Nevermore: Currently Under Construction
by ABeautifulDeath
Summary: There was the twittering of birds; the bright splash of sunshine; fields of blooming flowers kaleidoscoping into nauseating swirls of color. And finally the pink glittering sign, "Currently Under Construtction." She blinked....And blinked again. 'Oh Shi-'
1. Something Small

**Disclaimer:** I have no intention of even pretending that I, simple student and struggling writer, own any fraction of the awesome that is Teen Titans. I would simply like to take the characters out of the norm and play a little while. After I finish, I promise to put them back.

**Note:** Inspiration is like a morning tide. It waxes, wanes, beaches moldy seaweed then drags it back out to dank depths that is my consciousness. Needless to say for the last few weeks, I have been waning. My inspiration has been lost, pulled beneath the ever churning waters, and cast out. And now it is back with stead fast vigor. Of course it is screaming at me to write something that I had not dare try months ago, for fear of losing the simplistic humor that is Teen Titans. But alas, here I am. Boring you to pieces rather than getting on with the tale that has been boiling under my skin.

I realize that there are many, and I mean **many** Fanfics that deal with Raven developing the emotion of Love. And if you have even taken the time to read this long winded drabble that I call an Author's note, then you are about to learn that this is one of _those_ fanfics. Yes, I have decided to try my hand at a Raven spiced relationship. And to make it even more _original_ (note the sarcasm) it will be a triangle of sorts. Can you guess who? I bet you will within the first 3 chapters.....But to make things interesting feel free to guess.

I am happy to say though that my own little spin will be added to the monotony of the Raven-learning-love scenario. One that I am quiet excited about. And to make sure none of you rain on my parade so to speak, I will humbly request that there be no Flames over the pairings and or style, but constructive criticism is welcome. If you do decide to flame, you will either be A. Ignored, B. Humiliated, or C. I will send my herd of ninja monkey after you. And believe me, they throw more than just offending wads of poo at your face.

I really don't know how long this story will be. It could be a one-shot, it could be an epic (though I highly doubt I can maintain creative focus that long.). All I know is that I have the urge to write. And as long as this urge lasts, so will the story. And if you like the story, tell me, because reviews feed my inspiration. They encourage me. So please review, tell me if you like it!

So without further ado, or something to that effect, I present the prolog to this possibly short lived tale of Raven.

**Something Small Pt. One:**

**Raven:**

Like all things wondrous and worth spinning yarn about, it starts out small. Minute. An insignificant detail usually lost or disregarded by those unaffected. For some it is the brush of a hand; others a coy smile of immediate attraction across a room. But for Raven, mysterious half demon and member of the crime fighting super hero group called the Teen Titans, it fell upon a simple morning ritual. One that had been religiously executed since she was able to reach a stove top.

Tea.

A tea cup to be more precise.

Like every other morning before this particular Saturday, Raven Roth walked through the empty kitchen of the T-Tower. Her body carried out the routine of filling the kettle, lighting the burner, and plucking out a chamomile tea bag with conversant ease allowing her mind to revel in the rare silence that settled upon the crime fighting strong hold. It was difficult to find a small moment to herself now a days. With Robin's oppressive concern hovering over her shoulder and the other's sickeningly friendly antics in front, she barely found the time to meditate let alone pee without some form of comforting glance, bone-crunching hug, and or invitation to Stank Ball.

_They mean well...._

Raven sighed, sitting down at the small island counter that ran parallel with the white washed cabinets and sink. The chair groaned in subtle protest as she shifted against the cool wood grains. She watched as the steam began to lazily curl from the small hole of the black kettle, her thoughts returning to the fiasco of a mission last night.

Red-X had slipped through their finger's once again. Leaving behind a broken display case, pride-pounded leader, and one confused sorceress in his wake.

_'Look at her, Sunshine. Forever trapped in that shell of impenetrable glass, begging to be set free. So beautiful and yet so alone. Only to be adored from afar.....But you know, I never was one for 'Look but don't touch'....'_

The thief's robotic intonation, changed by the voice distorter embedded in the skull mask he sported, echoed in her mind. Repeating over and over like a mantra.

_'Forever trapped....So alone.....Look but don't touch.....'_

The shrill whistle, signaling her morning source of sustenance snapped her mind back to the present. Mentally whispering the chant taught to her all those years ago,

_Azarath. Metreon. Zinthos._

Raven flicked her wrist and reclined back, waiting for the black umbra to coil from her person and reach out to make her tea.

.....

.....

......

Raven sat up a little straighter, her brow furrowing in minor confusion. The kettle remained singing away on the stove burner, slowly rising to a new frequency of annoying in pitch.

_Strange..._

She shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to try again, putting a tad more emphasis on her words.

**_Azarath. Metreon. Zinthos._**

.....

.....

_I'm probably just not concentrating hard enough...._

**_AZARATH. METREON. ZINT-_**

She watched in relief as the familiar pull of darkness swept down her arms and snaked off her finger tips in ebony trendils. Nodding in hesitated satisfaction, she allowed herself to recline once more, offhandedly listening for any sign that the others had awoken to her unprecedented noi-

Something in her mind flickered; magic, pulsating from her core slipped off center.

The light shatter of glass followed by the dull thunk's of dripping liquid bolted her upright. Raven pushed back her chair and tentatively walked around the island where she looked upon the broken splinter's of what was once her favorite cup. Porcelain shards winked in the dim stretch of early morning sun while the barely tinted water pooled at the center of the kitchen tile floor. The soft swish of the electric door leading from the upper floors into the open expanse of the living room, caused the half demon to jump. Raven quickly grabbed a towel and began to mop up the evidence of something mildly disconcerting.

Just as a pair of black boots,

_Robin.... _

stepped out onto the pale white linoleum, Raven tossed the tea-soaked, glass-riddled towel into the trash and bolted up right. Ignoring the questioning gaze of her leader, Raven gracefully scrambled for the door, not trusting her powers of teleportation at the moment. The last thing she needed right now was a tea-repeat and end up stuck halfway in the bathroom floor just as Beast Boy exited the shower.

Raven shuddered in disgust at the colorful image accompanying the unnerving thought. She pulled her cloak tighter around her body as if to stave off the traumatizing mental picture.

_I just need to meditate...._

One week and four tea cups later, Raven sat on her bed; legs curled beneath her as determined violet eyes gazed upon the reflection in her small hand mirror. Meditation did nothing to repel the small magic lapses that had been randomly transpiring the last seven days. It took a lot to upset the dark enchantress of the T-Tower. Ever since the defeat of her father, Trigon, she had become more comfortable in her skin, more attuned to her powers and senses. The fact that she was losing control unsettled her. The chanting and lotus position were slowly becoming defective against her rampant emotions.

Something was up in Nevermore.

_And I intend to find out what it is......_

* * *

**A/N: Please review....The more reviews I get, the faster I seem to want to get out the next chapter.**

I promise to get back onto my other FanFics. For some reason my Twilight FanFic '_Prey_' has been sitting in the forefront of my mind. So I'll probably update that at some point this week. Also I am going to start the prequel to '_In The Way__'_ sometime before I die.... Sorry for the major delay's and such...


	2. Arts and Crafts

**Disclaimer:** I have no intention of even pretending that I, simple student and struggling writer, own any fraction of the awesome that is Teen Titans. I would simply like to take the characters out of the norm and play a little while. After I finish, I promise to put them back.

**Note:** Wow, I'm a dork-face for letting this sit for so long. I apologize profusely for those who reviewed, put it on their story alerts and favorites lists. Life just got in the way, but hopefully now that this story is back in my radar, I'll update quicker.

Sorry for the shortness of the chapter, but long before I wrote the prolog I decided that if I did do a Teen Titan fanfic, Ravens emotions were going to play a significant part. I feel that there is so much potential there in Nevermore for craziness to ensue. Thus I've determined to give them their own intermissions of sorts. This is the first.

Remember, Flames equal Ninja-Monkies which equal Poo-bombs. Not something you want to mess with. Although I will except glares and name calling at the delay in updating, that is my fault.

**Thank You's:** I always like to reserve a section in my updates to thank all those who reviewed the previous chapters. So without further ado, Mio Amore, cRaZyMaN676, Mappadouji, Rein Lin, D-a28b, RumMonkey, and Angstar54 I just want to give you a big cyber-hug of awesome and a chocolate cookie of kindness for reviewing last chapter! THANKS!! : )

**Voices of Nevermore:**

Arts and Crafts:

"I don't, I don't think this is such a g-good idea." The gray cloaked figure murmured twisting her fingers nervously. She shot jumpy glances around the humble conjuration of color gathered at the gates. Only a small handful of Emotions running rampart through Nevermore had responded to Happy's singing invitation the pink-ette had sent out hours previous.

"For once I agree with Timidity on this girls. Raven might not understand the," The yellow draped Raven paused wincing in thought, "_Amiable_ nature of this particular endeavor."

Lethargy rolled her eyes lazily, amethyst orbs narrowing at Intelligence. "I swear you're not speaking English." Impulsive smothered her giggle with the edge of a mint green stole. Her attention was soon deterred to a shaft of light breaking through the receding overcast.

"It wasn't _that_ funny, Im." Rude spat, leaning back against a nearby budding-tree. She picked at the frayed orange cover. "And four-eyes has a point." Her nose scrunched at the fragrant bouquet of blossoming flowers in the nearby meadow.

"I resent that." Intelligence adjusted her glasses, sniffing bitterly. She too furrowed her brow but instead at the small pair of Blue-birds methodically gathering grass and string.

Happy continued to hum a non-sensical tune to herself, ignoring the others' comments. She didn't care what the others thought. They all knew that change was coming. And one could either fear it like Timidity, fight it like Anger (who was currently 're decorating' the flowering maze with her claws), ignore it like Lethargy, or welcome it with a cheery smile, like her. Of course then there was Intelligence who always took a platform of non-partiality.

"Glitter." She held out her hand, not taking her eyes off her project. Impulsive jumped at the command, quickly shoving a tall cylinder full of silver sparkles into the awaiting appendage.

"Glitter." Im responded with an enthusiastic nod.

"Glue." Happy demand from behind her doctor's mask.

"Glue." Impulsive repeated handing over the bottle.

"Markers."

"Markers."

And thus it continued until Happy sat up hours later and pulled down her salmon colored hood. Impulsive patted the sweat from her brow with a towel.

"It's done." She wiped her glittering, sticky hands on the fledgling grass before standing with a proud smile of accomplishment. "Now, where to hang it...."

Intelligence looked up from her book with a sigh, grimacing at the extreme neon brightness radiating off of the offending poster-board. She shook her head before turning to go back through the wrought iron-gates of Nevermore. Someone had to keep an eye on the new addition, lest Anger decide to just kill her and be done with it.

_This is gonna be trouble...._

From somewhere behind she heard a shriek of disgust.

"Why the _hell_ is it **Pink**?!"

Intlligence smirked.

_I was wondering if Hysteria would show up...._

**A/N: REVIEWS REVIEWS REVIEWS**


	3. The Midnight Maestro

**Disclaimer:** I have no intention of even pretending that I, simple student and struggling writer, own any fraction of the awesome that is Teen Titans. I would simply like to take the characters out of the norm and play a little while. After I finish, I promise to put them back.

**Note:** Ah, I actually have a really busy schedule this week, but for some reason my brain wouldn't shut up; finally I threw my blankets off of me and stomped over to my computer. I started writing this at 3 in the morning so forgive me if it might seem a little...I don't know...weird. Oh well, two chappy's in two days *pats self on back.* Hope you like it. **Read A/N.**

**Thank you's:** I always like to reserve a section in my updates to thank all those who reviewed the previous chapters. So without further ado, Mary and Kirei Yuki Tenshi, Thanks for your reviews. They are probably the reason why my brain is pressuring me to write this at all hours of the night, but oh well. Cookies and Coco-Moo for you! (And my English teacher said I was a horrible poet.....Chyeah whatever.)

**Midnight Maestro: **

Music in Mayhem:

The night was young, the moon full, and not a cop in sight.

_Show time....._ A deep breath of preparation passed through the skull-faced mask. The figure stepped forth from the shadows, his muscles rippling with cat like ambulation beneath the skin tight suit.

He pulled the grapple gun from the holster on his utility belt and aimed it high. With a satisfying pull of the trigger, the hook shot silently from the barrel and sailed fluidly though the air, dropping with a small-

_Thunk_

-On the Museum rooftop.

He loved that noise. The infamous thief known as Red-X back peddled a few steps until he felt the grappling hook catch. With a few test tugs, he nodded his head in approval finding the strength of whatever the rope clung too, adequate to support his weight. Again, gloved fingers, pulled back on the trigger, this time retracting the rope, thus propelling him heavenward towards the roof. Before hitting the small concrete turrets lining the cupola, the masked crusader flipped forward, twisting mid-air, landing on his feet; his legs slightly bent to absorb sound and shock. Clipping the gun back to his belt with one hand, he used the other to pull out the glass cutter and suction cup.

Red-X couldn't ignore the small tingle of thrill igniting in his fingertips, then traveling up his arms, gaining momentum. By the time it reached his feet, his body felt alive with a rush of adrenaline and promise. This was how heists were supposed to be. Blood pumping, heart pounding, goosebu-

_Wait... _All manners of villainy paused, his brow furrowing in thought._ Thats not right...._

Jobs were to be carried out under a semblance of detachment; cool indifference. Get in. Get out. Get paid. That simple.

At least it was supposed to be. But lately a certain Teen Titan had him taking jobs usually not even worth his time or skill.

_Raven, Raven, Raven.... _He tsked with a crooked smirk._ If you only knew.... _

Red-X shook the picture of his amethyst eyed sorceress from his head, mentally willing himself back to the task at hand. He didn't want to alert the Teen Titans......_yet_. First he had to be sure that he'd be successful before entertaining thoughts to alarm those laugh-worthy 'super-heros.'

The thief snorted incredulously behind his skull guise. That bird brain leader wouldn't know the definition of 'super hero' if it surgically removed the stick out of his ass.

Take last week's job for example. All it took was a few well placed Chloroform bombs and Bird Brain, Green Bean, and Other-World Barbie were out of the picture; followed up by an electrically charged X to the back of the Tin man, and the Titans were down, leaving him and the Sorceress some 'quality time.'

Red-X unconsciously rubbed the bruised area where his shoulder confused the diamond display with a bouncy castle.

_Maybe I did cross a line...or two. _He grinned impishly.

**Flash Back: Eight Days Ago**

"....But you know," Red-X continued, slinking his way closer to Raven. He stood behind her, watching as cloaked shoulders tensed at his presence. Reaching out, fingers traced a pattern on the back of her neck; his head leaning over her shoulder to gaze at the Darya-ye Noor Diamond. "I was never one for 'Look but don't touch'." Raven turned her face away from his, narrowed eyes searching the corridors for her teammates.

"What did you do to my team?" Her voice was shaky, be it from fear, tension, anger, lust...He didn't know. But he secretly hoped it was the latter. Just a little sign would've be nice. Some sort of indication that he was finally reaching her after all this time of waiting, watching.....wanting.

"Awww, Sunshine," He groused, "You don't like spending time with me? What is it? Do I have bad breath or something?" Red-X cupped his palm and puffed into it before sniffing tentatively. "Nah, can't be that. I'm minty fresh."

Raven rolled her eyes and stepped away from his disconcerting proximity. "I'm sure the inmates at Jump City Pen will _love_ that." She crossed her arms, her feet leaving the museum floor only to halt a few inches from the ground.

"Now see," Red shook his head chidingly and placed his hands behind his back; the adhesive X slipping into his right glove. "If I had known you were going to rain on my parade, I would've brought an umbrella." Raven let her arms fall by her side, a defensive stance not lost to her masked opponent's critical eye.

"What you should have brought," Raven stated flatly, thick curls of ebony snaking from her fingertips, "Was a Jock-Cup." Red-X tilted his head, puzzled.

_'Jock Cup?'- _Masked eyes widened in realization flickering to the oncoming projectile.

He barely had time to dodge the pipe approaching his lower half at alarming speed, while simultaneously launching the X he had hidden behind his back. He heard Raven give a gasp as the adhesive weapon connected to its intended target, sending her out of the air and trapping her against the back wall. Red-X took his time rolling to his feet and dusting off his suit, lazily turning to the struggling Sorceress.

His new design had worked flawlessly.

_No way she's phasing through that anytime soon._ He smirked proudly behind his mask, meandering over to stop in front of her. He wagged his finger accusingly at Raven, biting back a chuckle at her disheveled appearance. Her face was red from exertion, arms trapped to her sides by his weapon of choice. It wasn't everyday the demoness was caught off guard.

"Now that, my dear," He tapped her on the nose almost affectionately, "Was below the belt." Raven pulled away from his touch.

"No," The purple haired girl growled. "This is." Without warning her knee slammed upward, connecting _violently_ with his 'other family jewels'.

With a sputtering cough, Red-X lurched forward, his hands moving south to cradle the throbbing member.

"And I half expected it to be a rolled sock." She stated dryly, an unidentifiable gleam in her eye that could only be described as sadistic. Raven didn't even attempt to hide her smug grin. It wasn't every day that arrogant thief was caught off guard. She lifted a brow as he stood up straight, his breath slightly labored through the voice distorter.

"Th-_at," _He adolescently squeaked before clearing his throat, "That was uncalled for." The thief hissed coughing.

"Well then," Raven smirked, "I guess this would be too." Red-X deftly dodged her knee again with a victorious-

"Ha!" Only to find his ankles cut out from under him as a trendil of Raven's power tripped and flung him away like a rag-doll. He flew backwards into the center of the room, crashing into the display case of the very diamond he had come for in the first place. Red-X rolled onto his back, groaning in pain with a hint of irritation. He let a few choice curses seethe through clenched teeth, mentally berating himself for falling for such a simple trap.

_Way to go Romeo. If she didn't like you before, that suave landing preluded by such 'friendly' banter just sealed the deal. _He muttered bitterly. The thief wasn't sure who he was more angry at, at the moment; himself for falling for her trick, or her for tricking him in the first place. The black clad man sat up, his hand going to his head feeling the beginnings of what would be a hell of a headache.

He shook the glass off his suit, taking a mental list of rips, tears, and injuries that would now need tending too thanks to his highly unsuccessful Peter Pan impression. With this reference his thought process was pulled into another direction altogether.

_Hmmmm, Raven in a Tinkerbell outfit....Nice... _Red-X halted his movements, savoring the image before storing it in the back of his mind for later use.

_Diamond now, Perversion later..._

"You know, Sunny," Red-X stood, cracking his neck, "I _would_ thank you for the help, seeing as you got me _into_ the display," He watched as Raven's eye's narrowed. "But I can't say I agree with your methods." He stretched the kinks out of his arms, feeling each and every bruise that was now peppering his limbs, torso, and back.

Ignoring the stinging pain that even the slightest motion induced, he reached down and grabbed the coral tinted Darya-ye Noor laying open in a wasteland of glass, cotton stuffing and splintered wood. Once it was safely tucked into his utility belt he turned back to Raven. She appeared frustrated, unable to push the coils of power much further than a few feet from her spot on the wall. The fight with the Hive earlier that day in addition with Red-X's little venture had finally taken it's toll. Her energy level was next to non-existent.

"What's the matter, pretty bird? Polly outta power?" The thief taunted, unclipping his grappling gun. "Oh well," He shrugged firing at a high window opposite Raven. "Next time, Sunshine, you can tie _me_ up!" Without staying for her cynical retort, he disappeared into the night.

**End of Ridiculously Long Flash Back 0.o**

He shook his head, and smiled at the memory of Ravens signature glare leveled at his back as he escaped through the window. That look promised death, resurrection, and death once more. That or _very_ rough make-up sex.

_Again, I prefer the latter.... _

One hand cut a wide hole around the suctioned glass held in place by his other hand. With a final twist and jerk, the small window piece popped out of place revealing a nice sized gap he could jump down into. Delicately removing the fragile piece off to the side, he moved to sit on the edge of the hole, legs dipping into the inky blackness that was the Museum after hours.

With an accurately thrown X, he triggered the alarm system. The defining ring sang from the Museum depths piercing the air with the subtle promise of Titan interference...he hoped. Red-X once again paused. There were some who lived their lives listening to the hum of technology, others the grinding of gears, and some the pages of a book or roar of fans. But him; He savored the shrill peal that accompanied his chosen profession with a wistful smile.

_Music to my ears...._

**A/N:**Well hopefully that will sedate my creative drive for at least a couple hours so that I may get some shut eye. I love to read feedback, so if you would please:

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**

It would encourage me to write faster..... *hint hint*

Plus I would like to hear your opinion on the Raven/RedX interaction. Too predictable, too anti-climactic, too little.....Give me clues people so that I might improve to make the story better for you!

_~Ambrosia_


	4. Deceptions and Daisy Chains

**Yes This Is A RePost! Sorry for the Confusion but the editor was doing weird things to my sentences! **

**Disclaimer:** I have no intention of even pretending that I, simple student and struggling writer, own any fraction of the awesome that is Teen Titans. I would simply like to take the characters out of the norm and play a little while. After I finish, I promise to put them back.

**Note:**For some reason my creativity has taken a back seat for the most part this last week. What with the production at the theater and prepping for my military entrance exam...Blah, I've just been kind of out of it. Plus, for some reason I've been getting this urge to write something a little on the darker side. That tends to put a damper on my funny bone, unless of course you think the ritualistic sacrifice of small woodland creatures is humorous. Like I've said, damper...big one....

And FYI I **haven't** been sacrificing Bambi and his little rabbit friend Thumper to any pagan gods..._much_....Though I think I would be putting that deer out of his misery. Do you know how much crap he probably got from all the other deer while growing up with a name like Bambi? Honestly, I'm a chick, and if my parents had named _me_ Bambi I'd be throwing myself in front of the nearest bus holding a sign that read 'Hit me! I'm really a Pinata full of cash!!'

_Oh boy, and no offense to people of both sexes and all species named Bambi, but seriously come on....Bambi?!_

Alright, random and completely pointless rant aside, I hope you enjoy this chapter!! I realize that it is short, but come on, it's 2 in the freaking morning. At this point I'm happy to be coherent enough to prevent myself from drowning in a sea of my own drool let alone writing.

_No offense to people who drool. It's perfectly normal....._*snorts mockingly*

**Read A/N.**

**Thank you's:** I always like to reserve a section in my updates to thank all those who reviewed the previous chapters. So without further ado, ...I don't wanna know, Kirei Yuki Tenshi, and Hellbutterfly421. Thanks for your reviews! Cyber hugs around with warm hot Smores to you!

And for all of those reading this story and not reviewing, shame shame! I 'm a very self-conscious, budding writer. I need encouragement like Michael Jackson needs little boys.....Wait.....That sounded so less creepy in my head.....

Mulligan

I need encouragement like Sonny needs Cher....._Damn_....Wait, one more time.....

Mulligan.2

I need encouragement like Sea Monkeys need water. Yes! Like that. Monkeys : Water. Reviews sustain me, give me a supportive environment to thrive and swim in!

_Again....sigh....No offense to those fans of Michael Jackson (I personally like his music, plus he has a monkey! Not even the Queen has a monkey!) And no offense to die hard believers in the Sonny and Cher days.....Although I do think they are better off apart._

Now without further ado....

**Voices of Nevermore:**

Distractions and Daisy Chains:

Hysteria rocked back and forth, clutching her knees violently close to her chest.

_This was bad._ _Very very very bad... _She clenched her fists sporadically, wide eyes darting around in a panicked, cornered-animal fashion. Her fingers gripped the frazzled locks of purple hair, tugging to the point of pain.

_Bad bad bad bad, Ravens going to be very very angry...._She whimpered.

"Oookaay?" Confusion drawled, glancing around at her compatriots before honing back in on Hysteria's balled form. "Should we do something?"

"Just smack her." Lethargy yawned, rolling onto her side.

"No!" Caring stated firmly, stepping forward to crouch next to the shuddering, eggplant colored Hysteria. "Do you need something?" She ran a soothing hand across the panicking Emotions shoulders.

"Prozac and a good therapist." Rude tossed out, picking her nails.

"Rude, How could you say such a thing!?" The orange cloaked Raven met Caring's chastising glare with a raised brow. "Never mind." Caring turned back to Hysteria, cooing softly.

"This is _so_ stupid!" Impatience jumped. "We all know _why_ she's freaking out!" The flax colored Emotion threw her hands up frantically. "It's the same reason why the grounds are blooming, and why the water runs fresh!" She paced. "The same reason why the sun is shining, and our powers flicker! The sam-"

"We get it!" Intelligence snapped her book closed, pushing her glasses up with the other hand. She looked at the rest of the uneasy Emotions. Many had begun to gather around the small meadow where the New One had decided to plot herself. "Yes, things are changing," She continued shooting a pointed glance at the Raven in the middle of the field. "And things will continue to change. There is nothing we can do to stop it."

"Says you." Growled a familiar four-eyed Raven, cracking her knuckles.

"You can't kill her." Intelligence sighed deliberately, rolling her amethyst eyes at her crimson cloaked sister.

"Watch me." Rage hissed, stalking towards the meadow. Intelligence shot a pleading look to a distinct Emotion hovering on the outskirts of the group. After a few exchanged glances that spoke louder than words, the green Raven hunched her shoulders defeatedly.

"Fine." She grumbled bitterly. Deception stepped forward and gripped Rage's forearm, effectively stopping the four-eyed Raven's assault before it happened. She continued to drag the crimson Emotion away from the field hissing lowly as she passed Intelligence, "You owe me _big time_ for this."

"Let Go!" Rage struggled, "Let Go before I-"

"Oh hush." Deception stated flippantly, ignoring Rage's violent threats and promises of painful, but rather creative, deaths. "There is something in the Maze I want to show you. Then you can come back and ground up the newbie into a little Raven paste, savvy?"

Rage eyed her skeptically before pulling her arm out of Deceptions grip. "Fine." She growled disappointedly, "But after I get to-"

"Yes, yes," The Olivine colored Raven waved, "Blood, gore, screams of indescribable pain etcetera etcetera. All that _after_ our short trip to the maze."

Their voices faded into the warm breeze as Intelligence turned back to the growing congregation of Emotions. "As I was saying before so _rudely_ interrup-"

"Hey!" Rude barked.

"No offense," The yellow clad Raven exhaled, "But as I was saying, There is nothing we can do to ch-"

"W-what's It-What's It doing?" Timidity squeaked. All eyes turned from a now irritated Intelligence, too the center of the meadow.

"It appears to be humming." Lethargy mumbled.

"Oh! Do you think it's a song I know!" Happy perked beginning to hum her own little ditty. Soon joined off key by Impulsive.

"I-I meant with Its h-hands." Timidity stuttered worriedly, as Hysteria let out another loud wail. "Is It making a w-weapon of s-some so-sort?"

"It, has a name." Intelligence pinched the bridge of her nose. "And _she_ is weaving daisy chains."

Rude gave a disgusted snort. "You've got to be kidding me...." She palm-faced herself with a depreciating frown trying hard to block out the incessant screeching of the bouncing pair.

"Why that's-" Impulsive started-

"Absolutely-" Happy continued-

"PERFECT!" The squealed in unison, grasping each-others hands, before falling into a fit of giggles.

"Oh Goddess." Lethargy moaned, covering her ears. At this rate she wouldn't get a wink of sleep. Sure she _could_ move but, she's Lethargy...The name says it all.

The pair of jovial Ravens skipped into the blooming field of wildflowers, their laughter echoing in alien racket throughout the Nevermore skies.

"I'm leaving." Rude marched away, pausing to look over her shoulder at Lethargy, "Are you coming Leth, or what?" The lazy Raven wrinkled her nose, mentally debating the pros and cons of actual movement.

"Naw, I'll just rest my..eyes...ah-" Her words drifted off, melting into soft snores.

"Che." The orange Emotion shrugged and continued to walk away. "Come on Tim!" She shouted not waiting for the skittersh grey cloaked Raven to catch up. Timidity shot the small group of bubbling Emotions located at the heart of the meadow a last worried glance. In another burst of bewildering giggles, Timidity jumped starteldly and took off, hot on the boots of Rude.

Intelligence watched as the others slowly migrated away, taking up their own solitary perches to contemplate or meditate in peace. Of course they didn't wander out of sight, none brave enough to get to far away as to not be aware of any new developments. A pale hand adjusted the glasses on her nose before cracking open her book. With a tired sigh, Intelligence sat back against one of the many budding trees lining the field.

_All we can do now, is wait...._

**A/N: **Come on!

**Review Review Review!**

Or at least

**Subscribe Subscribe Subscribe!**

Just a _little_ indication that I have captured your interest would be nice, people. Please *Triggers Puppy Dog Eyes of Cuteness*

Oh, and the real Raven will be back in the next capture, along with some Raven/Robin interaction! Of course you could persuade me to write faster with reviews *hint hint; wink wink*

~Ambrosia


	5. Capes Have Their Disadvantages

**Disclaimer:** I have no intention of even pretending that I, simple student and struggling writer, own any fraction of the awesome that is Teen Titans. I would simply like to take the characters out of the norm and play a little while. After I finish, I promise to put them back.

**Note:** Aloha people! Can you believe that a person can have 3 2hour finals in one day? Neither did I, but after today, I'm a firm believer in that miracle stress relieving cure all: whiskey....

Just kidding, I've never drank before actually. *Pats self on back*

Alright here's the next installment! I was feeling a little hyper after my final test today, got a new chapter of Paladin's Promise up and now Nevermore! YAY!

It's pretty late actually, so I don't know how this chapter will turn out. I hope I can manage to construct complete sentences. So far so good it seems but then again that just might be the insomnia talking...

**Read A/N.**

**Thank You's:** I always like to reserve a section in my updates to thank all those who reviewed the previous chapters. So without further ado, Kirei Yuki Tenshi, badkidoh, Analia, GraceFangsandFire, Chai-Tea, and Hellfire. Thanks so much for your support. You keep me happy on the inside! Many good things to you and yours.

Now on with the chapter!

Remember to **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Confrontations: Part One**

Capes Have Their Disadvantages: 

_Last time with Raven:_

.....Raven sat on her bed; legs curled beneath her as determined violet eyes gazed upon the reflection in her small hand mirror. Meditation did nothing to repel the small magic lapses that had been randomly transpiring the last seven days. It took a lot to upset the dark enchantress of the T-Tower. Ever since the defeat of her father, Trigon, she had become more comfortable in her skin, more attuned to her powers and senses. The fact that she was losing control unsettled her. The chanting and lotus position were slowly becoming defective against her rampant emotions.

Something was up in Nevermore.

_And I intend to find out what it is......_

Her fingers traced the small embellishments of curled decorative inlay lining the reflective glass. Raven let out a wary sigh. She hated this feeling. Hated the tingle of trepidation that raked down her spine each time she tried to channel her powers.

_Doubt...._

Amethyst eyes widened. This had been going on for to long, and here she was wasting time sulking in self-pity rather than meeting the problem head on. Raven released a pent up breath, preparing her mind to fend off the onslaught of feelings that rushed forward every time she opened the portal to Nevermore.

Just as the edges of the mirror began to glow a vivid collation of swirling black and red, a different series of flashes accompanied by shrill ringing had Raven growling in irritation.

_Perfect, just perfect...._ She grumbled all but throwing the portal down and stomping over to her bedroom door. Of all the times that day for the Titan alarm to go off, it had to be then. She stalked down the hall fully prepared to walk down the stairs, but then paused.

_Might as well try... _The half demon shrugged closing her eyes and chanting.

**Azarath Metreon Zinthos**

A small smile of achievement twisted the corners of her mouth as her body began to melt through the top floor, her powers successfully teleporti-

_Uh-Oh...._

The familiar gut-wrenching motility shot through her veins, making her blood run cold with dread. The black umbra encasing her surged dangerously before flickering out mid-teleportation. She felt her body jolt downward, her cape caught halfway through the ceiling of the third floor as her body was left swaying.

_Great, all that's missing is me standing naked in front of a classroom...._

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

"Dude, where's Raven?" Beastboy glimpsed down at his watch.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**AZARATH! METREON! ZINTHOS!**

"Oh come on!" She whined kicking her feet puerilely before slumping forward, her body still swinging back and forth.....back and forth....bac-

_I don't have time for this... _Fingers, twitching in ill-supressed anger, began fumbling with the neck clasp of her cloak. She rolled her eyes heavenward.

"A little help would be nice, if you don't min-" Amethyst orbs widened, honing in on the painfully tautened material stretch above her.

_Oh-No..._

Then it happened. Starting with a small-

_Pop..._The first seam gave way easily followed by a haunting-

_Rrrrrriiiiiiipppppp_

_Damn it... _

She clenched her eyes closed, listening with a sinking aversion as the rest of the cape gave way. Raven landed in a crouch, her face immediately looking back up at the frayed piece of iridescent blue stuck half way in the ceiling. Taking a deep breath and releasing slowly, she trudged, defeatedly, to the stairs, walking the rest of the way to the Titan's living room.

Whatever villain decided that now was the time to play, was about to get the beating of a lifetime for her ruined cloak.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

"Nice of you to join us." Robin's masked eyes narrowed at Raven the very second she stepped through the electronic door. She ignored his gibe, instead opting to throw herself down on the edge of the couch and wait for the debrief. Raven could feel his eyes burning a hole into the side of her face, but refused to look up from her lap.

"Fine then," Robin turned his chair back to the screen, his fingers nimbly moving over the keyboard to pull up the video footage. "It appears that the first alarm was triggered 15 minutes ago at the Jump City Museum of History." Raven's head shot up as the leader continued. "I brought up the feed from one of the security camera's near the main showcase room and got this."

And there _he_ was, blowing a kiss at the camera. In all his cocky, arrogant, annoying

_Confident, athletic, seducti-_ Raven slapped a palm to her forehead.

_What the _**Hell**_?! _

"Friend Raven?" A tentative touch graced her shoulder causing the half demon to jump. She looked up noticing the room quiet, all eyes on her. She followed the hand on her shoulder up to see Starfire's worry painted face. "Why is it that you strike yourself? On my planet that is a sign of parasites so named Tublar Squelchy's. They slowly eat ones brains causing the liquified glop to leak out of ones ears and nose." Her eyes grew wide with fright. Without warning she pulled Raven into a bone-crunching hug. "Tell me, friend Raven, have you been experiencing the sudden urge to bake Ufilkis Snout treats?"

"Starfire?" The sorceress gasped, air or lack there of, becoming an issue.

"Yes, Raven?"

"Let. Go." The half demon stepped back, pulling up her hood as soon as the Tamaranean loosened her grasp. Taking a moment to compose herself, Raven leveled her eyes at Cyborg. "You driving?"

"Y-yeah." The metal man affirmed slightly taken aback. Last time he checked, Raven always flew to battle, preferring the freedom of the air as opposed to the confining space of the T-Car back seat. Well, that and the onerous presence of Beastboy.....Mainly Beastboy.

Raven nodded, turning heel and walking out the front door, leaving the rest of the Titans bewildered at her stranger than usual behavior.

"Okay," BB drawled. "Dude, what happened to her cape?"

~~~~~*~~~~~~

The Museum loomed ahead backed by the silvery vestige of the full moon as the T-car, T-cycle, and airborne Starfire approached. Raven practically kicked the door off of the T-Car as soon as the vehicle rolled to adequate jumping speed, eager to escape-

"And then," The furry green Titan chuckled climbing out after her, "The Bartender said 'Why the long Face," He collapsed on the ground in a fit of giggles. "Man that one's a classic!" He squeaked, not seeing Raven's slowly building provocation, her teeth grinding away.

"Hilarious." She stated flatly before turning to Robin. "Plan?"

"Alright team," He kicked down the stand of the motorbike then motioned the team forward. "We split up." Everyone huddled around their leader, eyes and ears wide for orders. White-masked eyes narrowed on BB, "BeastBoy, you take the East corridor and keep a nose out for chloroform bombs-"

"Preferably before they trigger." Cyborg snorted ruffling the shape-shifter's hair.

"Hey! I told you that wasn't my fault. Starfire was the one that tripped the wire." BB defended, brushing of the metal appendage.

"Focus guys," Robin cut in putting a stop to the banter. "I want to get this guy, tonight. Starfire, you take the North hallway and double check the Egyptian display. Remember he likes to hide out in the sarcophagi." The alien princess' face hardened, her innocent eyes taking a determined gleam.

"Yes Robin."

"Cyborg," He turned to the eldest Titan, "I need you to get to the security station at the end of the South corridor and see if you can hack the camera feed to give us eyes on X. We need to find him as fast as possible."

"You got it, Rob."

"Raven," Said Titan lifted a slim brow. "I want you to make your way to the main showcase room at the center of the Museum. If Red-X is looking for something it's probably there." She nodded in understanding, fingers cracking with anticipation. "I'll see if I can retrace X's steps and track him to where ever he is now."

Robin paused, letting everyone's order's sink in before raising his hands in a familiar gesture. "Titans! Go!"

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**A/N:** Alright, that was Part one of Confrontations. The next one should be out soon. Hope you liked this chapter! Red-X/Raven in next chapter with a dash of Rae/Rob!

And Please:

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!** Makes me write faster...hint hint....

Happy Reading : )

~Ambrosia


	6. A Whole Lot of Wrong

**Disclaimer:** I have no intention of even pretending that I, simple student and struggling writer, own any fraction of the awesome that is Teen Titans. I would simply like to take the characters out of the norm and play a little while. After I finish, I promise to put them back.

**Note:** So um, yeah. This is part two of Confrontations. Normally I would have inserted an independent Nevermore chapter, but I just decided to put the two together because of my crazy moving schedual. And because I feel guilty having it been so long since I last updated. So don't get to confused......

Oh, and there are a few additional Emotions popping up in this chapter. Actually now that I think about it, there will always probably be more Emotions popping up in every Nevermore chapter....So get use to it.....please....

I've been getting multiple requests for increased intimacy between certain characters, you dirty birds you. And there will be, next chapter. Cross my Heart hope to Cry....

Happy Reading!

**Thank You's:** In each chapter I like to give a cyber hug and cookie to all those who reviewed the last chapter so, to; Badkidoh, GiseMicaela, Analia, Kirei Yuki Tenshi, Nga Aroha, BobbiMunroe, and CWolf2. Thank you so much for your reviews! May your day be all butterflies and apple pies! Unless you don't like apple pies, but who doesn't like apple pies? Have you no soul?

Any who, on with the chappy!

**Confontations: Part Two**

A Whole Lot of Wrong In So Little Time

_**Nevermore:**_

"Will you stop!?" Rude snarled, curling her bruised, throbbing toes in her boot. Purple eyes flashed dangerously from beneath the orange hood. "If you don't cease and desist that idiotic dancing, _I'm going. To remove. Your legs_." She hissed, leaning in closer with every pause.

Annoying recoiled, a pout marring her delicate features. She sniffed, patting down her thistle colored cloak smoothing non-existent wrinkles. "Well, _someone_ woke up on the wrong side of **hell** this morning." She rolled her eyes going back to her incessant twirling. Rude slammed her head back into the tree ginding her teeth in effort to detere the urge to maim.

Intelligence sighed, shaking her head, eyes falling back to the novel in her lap. Tensions had been running a _little_ high, as they usually did when opposite Emotions came in contact and it was only a matter of time before somebody cracked.

_'I hope it's Rude,'_ A tiny voice in the back of her mind gnawed. _'Maybe then she'll just strangle Annoy and be done with it....'_ The yellow colored Raven coughed, her eyes blinking in admonishment at her own extrensic morbidity.

_'Perhaps I've been in the sun to long...' _

She adjusted her postion against the tree trunk, settling deeper into her book and shade. But the contentment was short lived as the unceremonious giggles from the meadow's heart _once again_ inturrupted her from Emotions in Aesthetics. She uncharateristically growled. Four hours and she had yet to even read a paragraph. Intelligence gazed upon Lethargy with something akin to jealousy. How that girl could sleep at a time like this was beyond her.

So many had begun to gather. All those Emotions residing in the depths of Nevermore amassing to gaze upon the one Timidity so lovingly dubbed, 'The Anti-Raven.' Inquistive eyes shot a glance around the surrounding field where dozens of Emotions hovered in prismatic wonder. Even the hermitlike Antisocial had managed to drag herself out from under her rock to tarry a provident look. True she did stand more than 50 yards away from the others, the fact that she had shown was unusual all in itself.

Her postrate ruminations were broken at the approach of a smug looking Deception. The green Emotion strolled into the assemblage, giving Intelligence a confidant smile that reeked of her recent evil doings.

"I'm afraid to ask." Intel drawled eyeing Deception warily. Said Emotion winked.

"Don't worry, she's not dead." Her orbs rolled consicously, "Though _I_ might be, if she get's out." Deception shrugged.

"If?" Intel lifted a brow.

"What exactly _did_ you do to Rage?" A creamy peach colored Raven spoke up, her eyes wide with compunction. Deception flashed a smirk at her sister.

"Let's just say that she won't be bothering us for a while, Pity." Deception chuckled priggishly.

"I'll bite." Rude crossed her arms, leaning back against a tree. "What'd you do? Hole her up in a cave?"

"Close, but no." The green cloaked Raven intoned.

"Drop her down the ravine?" Courage offered.

"No, but I'll keep that one in mind." Deception nodded. "Any other takers?"

"Inject her scurvy?"

"No."

"Jaundice?"

"_Wha-_"

"Pertussis?"

"**No**."

"Gonorrhea?"

"There was no exchange of any diseases of any sort, least of all _venereal_, Annoying, now shut up. It's someone else's turn." Deception sighed with a pointed glare. A moments silence fell, punctuated by Lethargy's soft snores. Seconds lapsed before a certain fuchsia cloaked Raven slithered forward from the congergation of color; Her head tilting to one side; a manic grin twisting her lips.

"You bound her in coarse rope letting the raw flesh of her wrists and ankles peel off in her struggles." Delirium closed her eyes, her face turning heavenward. "Meanwhile you prepared four braying steeds, tying them to each extremity before slaping the beasts to opposite corners of Nevermore." She breathed excitedly, "You wept in delirious laughter as she was ripped limb from limb: bone from bone: muscle from muscle, the sound sung like morning birds." The fuchsia Raven hummed in rapture before continuing.

"As you gathered each gloriously dismembered part, her agonizing screams faded into a mere simpering echo dancing off the jagged stones of your mind," Pale, spidery fingers caressed her lips. "And you drank, relishing the taste of your enemies blood, the sultry fluids sliding down your throat in orgasmic bliss." She moaned in unparalled, sadistic delight.

All eyes stared down the swaying Emotion of Delirium before taking a large step back from her unnerving presence. A pregnant pause hung heavy over the group.

"Erm, no..." Deception blanched shifting uncomfortably. "Something a tad less-"

"Hannibal Lecter." Rude volunteered.

"Yeah.."

"Hey you guys!" A Raven cooed naively skipping up to the others gathered under the blossoming tree line.

"Hey Ignorance....." the group choursed back wearily, their attention shifting from the hunched Delirium to the lime green Emotion. Said Emotion frowned at the somber reception.

"Why's everyone so down in the dumps?" She looked around at the forlorn faces huddled around the edge of the meadow. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong?" Hysteria crowed, her eyes darting back and forth as she jumped to her feet pulling at her hair. "_Wrong_?!"

"Here we go again...." Rude mummbled poking Lethargy with the toe of her boot. Lethargy grunted rolling her back to the rabid torrent before resuming her afternoon nap. Timidity clutched the at her sister's orange cloak, hiding her face in the folds, whimpering.

Intelligence slammed her book shut with a huff. Honestly, how could anyone get any reading done in this environment?

"Nothings, _wrong_." Hysteria continued, starting to pace. "No no no no no..." She drummed her temples with shaking fists. "Nothing's wrong. Everything is good. Good? Did I say good? I meant Great! Yes Great! Everything's just Great!" Her ranting increased in speed as well as screeching volume; hands waving erratically, laughing, "Delirium was just filling us in with her _twisted._ **little.** _**QUIPS-**_"

"Enough!" Intelligence cut in firmly with a wave. She pushed the sliding glasses up her nose, narrowing her eyes at the quaking Emotion. "Hysteria, breath. The last thing we need is you gallivanting into another panic attack."

"Here, Here." Annoying cheered jumping up, consequently landing on Rude's foot _again_. The orange Emotion hissed in pain, glaring at the more flaky sister.

"Hwoops..." Annoy chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Final warning," Rude spat. The thistle cloaked Emotion answered by sticking her tongue out cowellishly. Rude's right eye twitched, her fist coming up and cracking with promise. "You know what? I don't care anymore." she stated breezily with a shrug. "I'm actually _going_ to kill you....._Now_." She added darkly.

Intelligence sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. She bit her lip, trying to ignore Annoying's screams of terror, Rude's noisy lunges, Hysteria's earsplitting wails, Timidity's frantic squeaks, Lethargy's snores, Courage's goading chant of-

_"_Fight! Fight! Fight!..." who was soon joined by Deception, with the occasional garnish of _'Bathe in her Sorrow!_' from Delirium.

Ignorance took the entire sight in with stride, humming to herself with a thoughtful frown. She turned to the yellow Emotion.

"So," The lime one blinked candidly, "What'd I miss?"

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

_**Museum:**_

Raven clutched her head as another piercing stab of pain ripped its way from her temples to the top of her spine.

_Good Goddess, _She gasped,_ What are they _doing _up there? Playing Rugby?_

She bit back a cry, as a particularly agonizing wave was sent coursing through her skull. The Titan reached out, gripping a nearby pillar for support before stumbling forward in the direction of the main showroom at the heart of the Museum.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

"Gah!" Beast Boy jumped, his flashlight falling on a taxidermied Cheeta. He slapped a hand to his forehead, chuckling at his restlessness. "Man, I've got to ask Robin to stop giving me this wing." The changling shook his head. Green eyes followed the beam of light in his hand, passing over the various stuffed animals.

"Dude this place is uber creepy." He mumbled into the swallowing dark. Empty glass eyes reflected back at him in cold detachm-

_-Snap-_

"What was that?" Beastboy 180'd, eyes darting back and forth between the World Wildlife exhibits, his back arching like that of a cat. "He-hey Cyborg, that you?" He squinted into the dark, a well shadowed figure moving towards him. "I thought you were supposed to be checking the Security camera's? Finding X?"

"Not Cyborg," Beast Boy paled at the familiar intonation, "But thanks for the heads up Furball." The skull mask tilted in appreciation, a red shuriken dancing through his fingers.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

Robin paused, ears straining in effort.

_Was that Beast Boy? _His brow furrowed at the lingering scream echoing throughout the halls. The Leader shook his head, returning his focus to the prominent dusty footprints trailing up the center of the corridor. He kneeled down, running a gloved finger through the dust. He rubbed the substance between his thumb and middle digit.

_It appears to be the same physical makeup as the roof. They must be his..._

Robin stood, pulling out his bow staff for the ready and began to follow the footpath. He frowned in austere determination.

_Gottcha......_

_~~~~~~*~~~~~~_

"Finally." Cyborg sighed in relief, slumping down into the comfy leather chair provided by the Jump City Museum Security Team. He twirled to face the wall of tv screen's, each showing a different room or corridor angle of the Museum's many halls and exhibits. The eldest Titan weaved his metallic fingers together, stretching his arms forward in preparation. With a resounding crack, he rolled his shoulders, hands moving to the keyboard covering the expanse of the slim mantle before him.

"Let's see," He breathed head lifting glance the monitors, "StarFire's right on time." Cyborg noted, watching the Tamarian fly through the door leading into the Ancient Civilizations wing. He followed her form as she passed through numerous screens, her green lit hands acting as duel flashlights to canvas the surrounding artifacts. The alien suddenly paused mid flight, turning to face the camera with a large smile on her face. Cyborg chuckled as the Tamarian began to excitedly wave, mouthing

'Hello Friend Cyborg!'

Before going back to her search.

"Well she's alright. How about Rob." Eyes shifted to another section of screens. These ones covering one of the service hallways mostly reserved for Museum staff.

The Team Leader appeared to be tentatively making his way North, trailing the elusive thief. "Okay, Green Be-" He drew back narrowing his eyes at a puzzling section of blacked out screens in the upper right hand corner of the wall.

"Hm, What are you suppose to be recording?" The Half Machine Teen tsked, flipping open a small compartment in his left forearm and pulling-out a small plug. He proceeded to hook into the computer mainframe, his own processing unit delving through the Museum files in attempt to fin-

"Ah-Ha!" He rubbed his hands together victoriously. "Wait a sec." His eyes widened, unease seeping into veins. "That's right outsi-"

He heard the tell-tale whistling before the electrically charged projectile latched onto his back jolting him forward in the seat. His circuits crackled as they began to spasm and fry, a pungent odor of melting plastic curling through the air.

"Not again...." Cyborgs voice distorted, dipping lower as his body powered down.

Red-X shook his head in feigned condolence, his hands falling back to his sides as he melted back into the shadows, but not before spying a certain alien hovering around a group of Hun wax figurines in one of the many monitors.

Really, they were just making this way too easy.

_Two down, two to go. And then_, He unconsciously licked his lips,_ Playtime...._

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

He narrowed his masked eyes in suspicion, glaring at open broom closet located at the end of the hall. Robin pulled out a bird-a-rang clicking it open.

_Can it really be this simple...._

He stepped closer, eyes falling on the footprints, illuminated by random shafts of pale light pouring in from the windows, leading into the bosky threshold. The Titan Leader breathed deeply, just about to enter when something beyond the doorway caught the moonlight in a red gleam. Raising a brow he stepped back. He reattached the bow-staff to his belt, opting to pull out a palm-sized flare instead.

Robin popped the seal, throwing the flash of controlled fire into the dark.

The seconds after were filled with something just short of chaos, as the flare flew forward into the small room landing with a splat on an adhesive red-x stuck to the floor, but not before snapping a trip line leveled at waist high causing the door to slam shut. A collation of snaps and creaking had Robin flipping backwards to avoid the heavily tilting statue of Horus just as it tumbled onto it's side in front of the closet.

The Titan coughed, waving the billowing dust out of his face, blinking fervently only to see the statue occupy the space he had moments before. He shivered.

Had he actually fallen for the trap, there was no way Robin would of escaped the broom closet that was now being blocked by at least two tones of Ancient Egyptian God.

_Guess not...._

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

Red-X dusted off his suit, frowning at the singed holes decorating his body, most still smoking.

_Her aims improving..._

He cringed, lifting the unconscious alien into his arms, her breaths steady and even.

"Hmm Robin...." She mumbled in her chloroform induced sleep, snuggling deeper into the thief's chest.

"Sorry babe," Red-X chuckled gently setting her down into one of the open displayed sarcophagi. "Got my sights set elsewhere." He pushed the lid closed.

_Now to the main event...._

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**A/N**:

I know, I know, There was supposed to be some Red-X/Rae interaction in this chappy, but I've decided to split this into Three Parts, due to the fact that I have other stories I need to update.

Confrontations Part Three **will **be almost completely Red-X and Rae. The chapter should be up relatively quickly.

Happy Reading and

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! **

~Ambrosia


	7. To Catch a Thief

**Disclaimer:** I have no intention of even pretending that I, simple student and struggling writer, own any fraction of the awesome that is Teen Titans. I would simply like to take the characters out of the norm and play a little while. After I finish, I promise to put them back.

**Note:** 'Ello 'ello, readers! This is part three of Confrontations! Sorry for the semi-long wait; I've been on the road a lot and on top of that, my little brother's been oppressively insistent that I make up a school year's worth of lost 'buddy-time' in a straight 72 hour go. Thus, for the last three days I've gotten approximately four hours of sleep. But hey, I'm now a level 45 on Samurai Warriors, Won the Quiditch World Cup (twice, suck it!), _and_ watched the last full season of Family Guy. So before I lapse into a coma, I'm going to get a couple chapters out. And just so you know that I am sorry for the delay I made this one extra long for your reading pleasure. In fact it is more than double the size of my longest chapter ever on Fanfiction!

Happy Reading!

**Thank You's:** Wow! You guys are so wonderful, so to celebrate your awesome here is a shout out to all those who reviewed! So to; Badkidoh, GwenFan22, Kirei Yuki Tenshi, TheyCallMeAwEsomE, Drifting One, Triva, and YaoiFan080; THANK YOU! For cereal, Your reviews bring smiles and sprinkles of happy!! I wish everyone a great summer filled with warm, rainy days perfect for good books, and clear, breezy nights meant for star-gazing.

And a Thank you for those who added Nevermore to their Alerts and Favorites!

Now, on with the perversive flirting!

Remember to **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Confrontations: Part Three**

To Catch a Thief.... Sort of: 

**_Nevermore:_**

AntiSocial gnawed at her bottom her lip, looking down her nose at the grey cloaked figure digging its face into the folds of her fallow shaded hemline.

_Oh goddess, it's touching me..._. She echoed Timidity's whimper with one of her own, amethyst eyes darting around alarmed. Her breath became short and laborious as the contact prolonged from seconds to minutes. How much longer was she expected to suffer this torment? What did she do that warranted such scorn?

Nothing. That's what.

It wasn't her fault those hooligans across the field started a riot. It **was** Curiosity's fault, however, that she ended up on the outskirts of said squabble.

When the fight first broke out, the ultramarine Emotion latched onto AntiSocial's forearm and proceeded to drag her, _against her will_, across an entire meadow to just in time to catch Rude stuffing handfuls of clover down Annoying's throat. Somewhere in between Impatience diving in to the fray with an Amazon-worthy battle cry and Courage tackling Pride into a near by flowering lilac bush followed up by Deception body slamming Curiosity;

'Just for the hell of it', the forest green Emotion shrugged before running off somewhere; Timidity had found it prudent to suctioned onto _her _-**Her**, AntiSocial, the **one** emotion in all of Nevermore that abstained from touch. The gray one weaved her arms around her older sisters legs and proceeded to release of floodgate of tears into the fabric.

Somewhere in the foreground, Hysteria let loose a haunting wail above the howls and curses of the fighting Emotions.

The fallow colored Raven shuddered, absently batting at Timidity's unrelenting hands. Next too her, Delirium had decided to pause in her mindless wanderings and level AntiSocial with a manic grin.

The eggplant Emotion's unnerving stare burned into the side of AntiSocials face, making her want shift from foot to foot, but unable to do so due to Timidity's face nuzzling into her waist. The normally withdrawn Raven swallowed loudly, turning her head to give Delirium a small wistful smile.

"Will you stop staring at me," AntiSocial stated shakily, "It's making me uncomfortable."

Delirium just tilted her head and blinked in a birdlike fashion, the grin on her lips widening even more. She abruptly stepped in closer, licking her lips.

"Will the stars sing red tonight? Or will we dance away in robin wings?" She whispered conspiratorially her eyes rolling heavenward as she let out a deranged giggle.

AntiSocial grimaced, shooting a pleading glance at Intelligence, who had surprisingly decided to take a chapter from Lethargy's book and disregard the variegated revolt happening in front of her. The glasses sporting Emotion sat next to the slumbering Lethargy, face well hidden behind the pages of her book.

"W-well," The fallow Raven struggled, leaning away from Deliriums' face which hovered mere inches away from her own.

"**_What_**_ is going on here!_" A voice bellowed throughout the meadow, cracking over the group like a whip. All Emotions froze. Intelligence frowned looking over the cover of her novel at the fast approaching Maternal; her mahogany cloak flared out behind her long strides, nose flaring, hair pulled into a severe bun, eyes sparkling with anger.

_Oh crap...._

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**_Museum_:**

"Beast Boy?" Robins voice echoed adamantly into the swallowing dark of the Wildlife Hall. His footsteps tapped against the cold stone floor as the he weaved his way through the exhibits of various stuffed animals. "Come on, where are you..." The Titan leader grumbled under his breath.

After nearly falling into Red-X's trap, Robin came to the decision to regroup, power in numbers, but so far no one had been answering their communicators.

_What's the point of even having such tools, if no one's going to use them.... _Robin seethed to himself, pulling out a flashlight and clicking it on. A single beam of limpid light cut through the caliginous shadows, gliding over the miscellaneous creatures of the Neolithic Age. He raked a hand through his sweat roped hair in frustration.

Just as Robin began to lose hope, a familiar shade of muted green caught his eye.

_Oh no..._

"Beast Boy!" The Titan ran towards the shape shifter, yellow cape flapping behind him in earnest. "What happened?" He muttered, fairly certain his question would go unanswered as he stopped before the looming Saber-Tooth Tiger; for there, dangling from the open jaws of the beast was an unmoving BB. Red globs of X adhesive paste spotted his clothes and hair.

Robin reached out a gloved hand and gently prodded the large nodule bulging out from the sticky, sage-colored locks falling across the changeling's brow. The leader sighed, eyes narrowing in choleric puzzlement.

"Why didn't you call for back up?" He inquired rhetorically, sliding his arms under the passed out teens shoulders and knees, carefully lifting him out of the Saber-Tooths mouth. Robin gently laid BB in a nearby eagle nest of straw and feathers, eyes looking over his friend for any other serious injury. Finding none, the Titan stood, nodding in hesitant satisfaction while questions ate away at his wavering certainty.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

"That's it!" Raven snarled aloud, gripping at the roots of her hair in exasperation. Her eyes darted back and forth along the corridor searching for something -_anything_-, blunt or otherwise, heavy enough to knock herself out with in one solid swing. For blissful catatonia, the demoness figured, had to be better than the waves of near-blinding agony systematically tearing canals through her skull.

Excessive? Perhaps. Beating yourself into a coma during the middle of a mission did have its disadvantages, particularly if you wanted to successfully capture the perpetrator. But she was running out of options! Her Emotions seemed adamant on driving her to self-mutilation.

She absently noted that the frequency reserved for Titan communicators was unusually dead this late in the pursuit. Beast Boy and Cyborg should've been whining about hunger pains by now. Starfire hadn't even once asked some pointless question about a random artifact that lay about her. Robin's silence was expected. The leader insisted on using the communicator for emergency's only. Raven shrugged.

_They're probably just trying to keep quiet in case X is nearby....._

"X....." She grimaced letting the symbolic letter toss her thoughts into muddled chaos causing something in the back of her mind to pulsate, leaving behind a residue of foreign tingles.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

**_Nevermore:_**

"I have _never_ witnessed such **ill** behavior in all my days!" Maternal scolded, pacing in front of the line of guilty Emotions. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear, her fingers twitching with anger. "I'm _very_ upset with all of you." Her eyes travelled down the row. Rude was detachedly picking her nails a tiny smile of victory gracing her features every time she shot a glance at Annoying, who for the most part looked _relatively_ unharmed. The thistle Emotion stood just on the other side of the orange Raven, pouting and fingering the tattered bits of her cloak which sported just as many holes as it did grass stains from Rude dragging around her by her ankles.

Pride and Courage were in no better condition. They now carried a distinct odor of lilac and were busy smacking away hungry bees that continued to gather around their heads. Every now and then they emitted a pained yelp as a bee found its target, stinging them either on the forehead or neck.

Impatience had roped Ignorance into helping the her pick all the leaves and twigs out of her hair and off her cloak. Next in line was Timidity, who had yet to relinquish her hold on a _very_ upset looking AntiSocial followed up by Curiosity who was gazing at Delirium with an awe of unease. True to her name, the more sadistic Raven seemed content at bringing up the end of the row by spending her time pulling the wings off of butterflies murmuring with each pop of insect appendage;

"This little wingie went to market, this little wingie stayed home, this little wingie had..." And so on and so forth.

Maternal rubbed the deepening wrinkle in her furrowed brow, sighing dishearteningly.

"I'm not mad," The mahogany Emotion stressed, "I'm disappointed. I thought I made it clear that if anyone had an issue, they could come talk to me...."

Intelligence inwardly groaned, rolling her eyes. She pushed her glasses back up her nose, shaking her head as Maternal continued to lay the guilt on like peanut butter.

_This day can't get any worse...._

"Hey girls," A sultry purr floated languidly over the group, pulling Maternal's speech to an abrupt halt. All eyes turned to the origin, widening at the approach of a certain scarlet Emotion.

_I was wrong.... _Intelligence _did_ groan aloud, dropping her head into her book. Lethargy hiccuped in her sleep at the noise, nose twitching.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~~

**_Museum:_**

_I'll give them five more minutes... _Raven winced, pushing her rubbery legs forward. Five minutes, and if things had not calmed in Nevermore, she would force her own hand. The amethyst eyed Titan was simply to dangerous in her current state of imbalance;

Her mental blocks were less than what she would consider secure. The Emotions were on the warpath. All that coupled with the erratic surge and abandon of her powers as of late should've been enough reason to have bludgeoned herself into deep torpidity days ago and yet here she was.

Wait. Where was she? Raven blinked confusedly before running a hand through her hair exasperatedly.

_Oh yeah, the mission...._ At least someone in Nevermore was paying enough attention to get her back on track.

The main showroom of the Jump City Museum was a beautiful thing to behold at night. Shafts of pale moonlight poured from above through the glass dome that twisted its way heavenward at the heart of the ceiling and pooled upon the marble floors in splashes of blue and grey. Cathedral walls of matching marble ascended upward, the height elusive to the naked eye as they melted into the inky shadows untouched by the natural light. Towering pillars lined the circular room breaking only for the corridors that branched off to the four wings of the museum; Ancient Civilizations, World Wildlife, Modern Marvels, and the Entrance/Gift Shop.

The sorceress pulled her cloak tightly around her shoulders, shivering at the unnerving quite that seemed to envelope the room in an iron curtain. She walked further into the open expanse, halting in front of the red rope that fenced off the principal showcase which was reserved for touring exhibits. Last week it was the Darya-ye Noor Diamond which was now Goddess knows where thanks to a certain pig-headed thief.

Another shiver raced down her spine, this one refusing to leave her unscathed. Goosebumps errupted across the backs of her legs and arms, making her hair stand on end. Raven felt the heart beneath her breast speed up. A waterfall of lip-biting warmth cascaded down her face; the molten lava poured into the pit of her stomach, settling in weighty anticipation.

She slapped a sweaty palm to her feverish forehead, every nerve ending in her body flaring with sickening desire. Of what? She had no idea.

_This can't be good. It'll pass....Right?_

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**_Nevermore:_**

"Lust," Maternal clipped shortly, squaring her stance. The air grew thick with tension, as all knew that no love was lost between the two Emotions staring each other down at the moment.

"What? No hug? After all, I just got out." Lust patronized strutting forward, a distinct sway to her hips. She pouted in a manner that could only be construed as cynically seductive. Maternal scoffed.

"And risk certain disease?" She arched a brow, "I think not."

"Me-_ow_." Lust sneered. "Relax Mother-hen," She brushed by Maternal making sure to bump shoulders, "I just came to welcome the newbie. She _has_ to be better company than your sundowner self." The scarlet Emotion tossed back stepping out into the meadow. Maternal glared after her enemy, her teeth grinding as she swiveled back to the line of wide-eyed Emotions.

"_Who let her out?_" She hissed.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**_Museum:_**

"You do know stalking is illegal in all 50 states." Raven mused dryly, her eyes never leaving the string of jadeite beads sitting on the pillow inside the showcase. She reached out and tapped the glass waiting fo-

" You're no fun." Red-X tsked, melting into being from the shadows of a pillar somewhere behind her. "Plus," He tilted his head at the sorceress, his skull mask catching the light, "I was here first. Technically, that means _you_ were stalking _me_." Raven turned to face the thief, her eyes flashing in the moonlight. "Of course I won't press charges." Red-X waved his hands breezily.

"How kind of you." Raven bristled, silently praying for enough control to defeat her opponent.

"Oh, I can be _very_ kind." He smirked underneath the mask. Raven opened her mouth to retort but was quickly cut off, "Now the way I see it, dear Raven, is that we can do this one of two ways. The easy way or the hard way." He listed with a shrug.

Raven snorted straightening her arms out to her sides.

"How about my way." She pitched, her lips twitching with the hint of a smile as she mentally called upon the powers of her heritage.

_Azarath. Metreon. Zinthos._

Raven bit back a cry of accomplishment as the familiar umbra collected at her shoulders, pulsating with dark power.

She swept her arms forward, pushing the coils of demonic energy through her hands. Throbbing trendils snaked off her fingertips, lashing out angrily at the thief in slapdash attacks. Red-X sighed, hand-springing backwards, dancing his way around the sorceress' power.

_The hard way it is..._

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

"Cyborg?" Robin burst into the small circular room, his attention immediatly drawn to the tv screens filling the wall opposite him. All the monitors were either snow or completely off, casting the Security office in an eerie glow. He squinted through the darkness, frowning in alarm at what he saw.

_Cyborg..._

Robin raced to his fellow Titan's side.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

"Whatever happened to Passive Negotiation?" Red-X mused rhetorically twisting in the air to avoid the Ming Dynasty vase flying at his head at an alarming rate. He visibly winced when he heard it smash into the wall somewhere behind him, flecks of blue dyed glass peppering his back. "_That_ was probably expensive." The thief tsked, waving an accusing finger at the levitating sorceress.

"_That_ was a fake." Raven conveyed, flicking her wrist, a knowing gleam in her eye. "So is this one."

"What on-" His head snapped forward, the mate to the twin vase shattering against his skull, making him see spots. Red-X flew forward on his stomach landing at Ravens feet, her toes hovering inches above him. He rubbed the back of his head, willing away the stars that coyly danced through his vision. The thief pushed himself onto his knees and palms, waiting for the moment when the world would stop spinning.

"What's wrong X," Raven taunted, hands crossing in front of her chest. "Tired all ready?"

"Naw," X looked up, his eyes immediately and appreciatively honing in on creamy expanse of leg she unknowingly sacrificed for his benefit. "Just enjoying the view." He smiled impishly as Raven abruptly floated back, pulling her cloak tighter around her body. The thief cocked his head, standing up on wobbly legs. "Dressing like me now, Sunshine?"

Raven followed the tilt of his head and looked down at the tattered remnants of her hemline, the rest caught dangling in-between the third and forth floor/ceiling of the T-Tower from her teleporting fiasco earlier that evening. Red-X held up his own cape and made a point of eyeing his, hers, and then his again, nodding in plaintive resolution. He sighed.

"Either I'm a trend-setter or that's another symptom of a stalker. Are you sure you have nothing you want to tell me, dollface?"

His answer?

Raven's hands glowed black and blue, the shards of glass vase that surrounded the thief lifted off the ground and encircled him. The jagged points winking dangerously in the moonlight.

"Guess not." Red-X mumbled, regarding the sharp projectiles uneasily.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**_Nevermore:_**

"It's been awhile, Intel." Intelligence winced, turning slowly she plastered a frozen smile on her lips. She silently thanked the Goddess for Maternal's sudden need to take Timidity and Hysteria on a walk to calm them down. The smaller number of Emotional clashes she had to deal with, the better.

"Lust." The yellow Emotion nodded in greeting. "It has been a while since we've last spoken, not since that Malchior incident if I remember correctly." Lust's eyes grew heavy with nostalgia.

"Oh, yes," She drawled, smiling devilishly, "The Dragon. That _was_ fun wasn't it." The scarlet Raven winked. Intelligence, frowned in thought.

"He tried to kill us."

"Details." Lust waved offhandedly, curling a lock of purple around her finger.

"Too bad Raven didn't share your dismissive mentality." Intel rolled her eyes, her tone borderline scornful.

"Quite." Lust narrowed her own eyes. "But if you're worried that I still hold a grudge against you for not stopping her when she _locked_ me away in that awful **cage**," The scarlet Emotions gaze flashed contemptuously before melting into a plastic smile. "Don't. I forgive you."

"Thanks." Intel cautiously eyed her sister before pulling back in confusion. "How _did_ you get out?" Lust gave her a wolfish grin, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I don't know." She giggled at Intel's astonishment. "The door just opened," Lust snapped her fingers. "Like that. I didn't even have to turn the handle."

"And that doesn't bother you?" Intel questioned uneasily, her mind racing at the implications. If Lust's cage was opened, who else could have been released from confinement? Raven -the real Raven- had made a point to lock away many of the darker psyches of Nevermore. Lust was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Why the hell would it _bother_ **me**? I got out. Free to smell the flowers as it were." Lust moaned in delight, bending over to scoop up a small bouquet of wild vegetation before wandering off to do Goddess knows what.

Intel shot a worried glance at Rude who just shrugged, leaning back against a nearby tree with her arms crossed.

"Nothing we can do about it now." The orange Emotion stated.

"Yeah," Intelligence shook her head sighing. "Nothing."

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**_Museum:_**

"Now, how'd we end up like this, hm?" Red-X gasped between breaths, relatively proud of himself. He thought for certain his ass was a pin cushion back there and yet he continued to surprise himself with his own agility.

Raven snarled, her legs flailing out in all directions as he shifted to get better hold. Man she was _pissed_. Of course, he would be too if it was he was the one tackled out of mid-hover and thrown to the ground, landing on a smorgasbord of wrecked.

His grip on her wrists tightened as she struggled under him. "You know," He added, hooded eyes traveling downward, taking in their position. "I always did prefer to be on top."

"_Get _**_off_**_ me _**_now_**." Raven growled, seething up at her capturer. She could feel every inch of his body stretching over her like a blanket of welcoming night. All shadows and mystery.

_Oh Goddess... _The Titan visibly paled. The foreign tingles coming back with a vengeance, jump starting her nerves on high.

She hated the way it made her skin tremble where ever his spandex suit rubbed against the bare flesh, her body humming a tune she couldn't follow and he played her like a fiddle.

He practically molded against her frame, effectively trapping her between him and the freezing marble; the contrast of hot and cold playing havoc on her senses. Red-X chuckled darkly, leaning in closer than necessary. She turned her head, avoiding the graze of his mask against her cheek. Raven squeezed her eyes closed, a frown marring the pixie-like features of her face.

"I don't think you're in the _position_ to be making demands, Sunshine." Red-X purred in her ear sending a racking shiver down her spine only to explode out through the bottoms of her feet, like electricity. Her eyes snapped open.

_What is wrong with me..._. She bit back a moan as he adjusted his hold, his hips rubbing against her in a delicious undulation. The series of knots accumulating in her stomach tightened.

Raven's eyes narrowed, a challenging flame sparking to life within the amethyst depths.

_Get a hold of yourself..._ She chastised. _He's a criminal for crying out loud...._

_A very toned and well formed criminal... _A flirtatious voice cooed in the back of her mind, sending jolts of need through her system. _Perfectly proportioned in all the right places..... _She continued in a come-hither drawl.

_Shut up! _Raven shook her head, resisting the flash compulsion to rip the tantalizing spandex off of Red-X and see just exactly what he was hiding under there.

With a new air of determination, tricky twist of her arms and roll of her hips, their positions were switched; he flat on his back and she straddling his waist pinning his wrists by his shoulders while her legs locked around the top of his thighs ending with her feet curling in at his knees to prevent him from bucking. Red-X looked up at her in a daze, his head slumping back against the floor in a lewd euphoria.

_That's more like it..._ He licked his lips behind the blank mask.

"You keep pulling moves like that, sweet heart, and I just might have to steal you." He sighed languidly, "I admire a woman who can take charge."

She could hear the grin in his breathy statement and weathered the overwhelming urge to wrap her hands around his neck.

"Another **word** and I swear on everything holy I'll-"

"You'll what?" He arched his back knowing just how to push her limits, "I love it when you talk di- Gaahhh!"

"I warned you," Raven rolled her eyes admonishingly. She jumped to her feet leaving Red-X to curl on his side, both hands flying southward to cup his member. "That's the **only** position you'll be boasting at my expense." The sorceress lifted a slim brow, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she brushed dust and rubbish off her cloak.

"I thin**k**," He coughed between wheezing gasps, "You have an extremely unhealthy obsession with my manhood, **_darling_**." He swallowed back a tinge of acidic bile. Red-X felt the air pulsate around him, a distinct black shadow encasing his body and thrusting him from the ground.

As he flew head first through the air, something in his mind registered that perhaps perversion wasn't exactly working in his favor. He pulled his knees tight into his chest, rolling in air to plant his feet against the wall and pushed off with counter force successfully launching himself back into the debris field of glass, wood, paintings, x's, and last but certainly not least, a feisty little Titan standing at the heart, arms ready.

Pulling out an X and palming it for quick use, he sighed.

_Time for_ _Plan B....._

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

_First Beast Boy and then Cyborg.... _Robin shook his head defeatedly, running for the Ancient Civilizations wing. He couldn't get the image of his cybernetic teammate's electrocuted body slumped over the keyboard of the Security room, out of his mind; a giant red X latched onto the circuit board of his back. The smell of burnt plastic and sizzled alloy haunted Robins nose, making it itch.

"Come on Starfire," The leader bit the inside of his cheek, eyes skimming over the wax figurines of Egyptian rulers. He stopped short, ears straining through the dark.

_'Auggh.....Auggh....Auggh...'_

Was that breathing? Robin walked forward deeper into the Egyptian exhibit. He weaved through various glass cases holding cracked vases, gold trinkets.

_'Auggh.....Auggh....Auggh...'_

It was getting louder as he approached the larger displays. These ones holding pottery depicting ancient life and scrolls of deteriorating papyrus.

_'Auggh.....Auhmmggh...Auggh...'_

Louder still.

_What _**_is_**_ that? _Robin tightened his grip around the ready bowstaff, the leather of his gloves creaking under the stress. His masked eyes darted back and forth between the array of sarcophagi lining him on both sides.

Snefru..Reneb Nebra..Horus Aha..

The mysterious sound grew louder with each passing funeral box.

Menkaure..Inyotef I..Neferusobek..

_'AUGGH.....AUGGH...AUGGH...'_

Was this another trap_?_ Robin blinked away the sweat that pooled at the corners of his eyes. Where was Starfire? Did she even make it this far? Or did X catch her earlier in the hunt? The questions flared as did Robin's anger.

**_'AUGGH.....AUGGH...'_**

What the **hell** was that noise! Robin ground his teeth, his muscles tensed to react at even the slightest of foreign movement. He slowly 360'd as he continued to stalk further into the room.

'**_AUGGH_**....**Robin.**...'

Said teen froze mid-step. The titan's eyes danced between the sarcophagi, furrowing in surprise.

Merenhor..Nikare..Starfire..Ibi I..Nefe-

_Wait._

Robin peddled backwards, stalling in front of a partially opened sarcophagi.

'**_AUGGH.....AUGGH...'_**

Starfire. It was Starfire. And she was snoring.

Robin pressed his forehead into the glass shell separating he and his 'missing' teammate. He closed his eyes and sighed hopelessly, bringing up a fist to half-heartedly pound the case. The titan leader grimaced as another snore ripped it's way out of Starfire's mouth. He watched the alien smile in unconscious content as she shifted in her sleep, the ancient coffin she slept in creaking beneath her.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

Raven growled rubbing her eyes, blinking away the the spots in her vision courtesy of a well aimed flash bomb.

"That's it!" She hissed, squaring her shoulders. From the shadows, Red-X let out a taunting laugh.

"Awe, did I ruffle the little birdy's feathers?"

Raven took a deep breath,

"AZARATH. METREON. ZINTHOS!" She shouted into the room.

...

......

"Well, that was... Anticlimactic." X drawled from his spot leaning against a pillar, nonchalantly flipping a shuriken with his fingers like it was coin.

Raven lifted her hands to her face glaring at them as if they betrayed her. Which in truth they did. She shook the appendages fruitlessly.

_Oh, Come On!.... Azarath. Metreon. Zinthos._

_..._

"Not now!" She hissed, forgetting her surroundings.

Red-X watched with raised brows as the sorceress proceeded to squawk bitterly at her arms. He cleared his throat pocketing his weapon.

"Um, Sunshine?"

"You stupid, worthless -Uggh!- Why is this happening...." Raven continued to rant.

He edged closer to the object of his affections, hesitantly reaching out.

"Sunshine?" He tapped her on the shoulder.

"What did I do- What!?" She whirled on X mid rant, eyes flashing dangerously. Said thief took a quick jump back, out of hitting distance.

"Are you okay?" He questioned.

"Just perfect." Raven spat. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you're holding a one-sided conversation with your hands.... And apparently losing." Red-X mused slowly, ignoring his enemy's warning glare.

"X," Amethyst eyes narrowed threateningly. "I don't have time fo-" Raven yelped buckling over and grabbing her head in pain. Her agonized scream echoed through the empty halls of the museum and beyond. And then-

Nothing......

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

_**Nevermore:**_

"What's going on?" Intelligence snapped her book closed, jumping to her feet as the trees began to thrash violently; petals, leaves, and dirt bursting into the air only to be carried off by the hale winds. She pulled her cloak tighter about her shoulders, closing her eyes against the swirling pockets of debris that littered the air.

"I don't know!" Rude shouted through the roaring gusts, folding Timidity into her own orange cloak. The skies grew dark creating a line of shadow that slowly crawled across the wind-torn meadow swallowing all of Nevermore in a layer of inky shade.

"This can't be good!" Deception squinted in the darkness, pulling her hood over her head. She absently registered Annoying taking her hand, squeezing it like a life line.

Then, just as the wind started, it stopped leaving an iron curtain of oppressive silence.

"Nobody move." Intelligence warned from somewhere in the dark. "It's not ove-"

She heard before she felt the overpowering wave of energy cut through the air snapping her head back, ripping through her core and body leaving her breathless. As it passed, so did the shadow, the meadow once again bathed in sunlight as if nothing happened; birds took up their songs once more, bees buzzed over head carrying pollen to and fro.

Intel and the other Emotions throughout Nevermore collapsed onto their knees, their legs buckling under the weight of change.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Rude growled, grabbing her head from her crouched position next to Deception.

"I-I d-don't l-l-like th-this." Timidity whimpered, an unfamiliar sensation burrowing into her system.

"Is this wrong?" Deception shakily kneeled, fists clenching the grass to gain some semblance of balance.

"I don't know." Intelligence breathed, struggling to stand.

"Whatever it was, it's gone now." Lethargy yawned, plucking a twig from her hair before rolling onto her stomach and cushioning her head with her folded arms.

"Yeah, gone." The yellow Emotion dusted off her book, unable to shake the unease niggling away at her thoughts.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**A/N:** If you want to know what happened, you have to review! Hope this chapter wasn't too confusing for you! I hope Raven and X weren't to OOC this chapter. If they were, I'm sorry, I'm trying to keep them in character as much as possible and still make the flexible to work with the plot line....

Happy Reading : )

~Ambrosia


	8. Well This is Different

**Disclaimer:** Okay so I may not be able to claim _monetary_ payment for my Fanfic's, but I'm more than willing to except bribes in the numerous forms of sugary -laced confectionaries, caffeine, and the arbitrary ritualistic animal sacrifice (Bunnies preferable…)

(Oh, and by confectionaries, I mean various cheesecake's and triple chocolate-fudge frosted oatmeal raisin cookies. (Don't knock'em till ya try em'! They're frick'n addictive! Serious risks involve involuntary outbursts, extreme spasms of the limbs, and heightened light sensitivity. If symptoms persist call a doctor…..)

**Note:** In the immortal words of my _fabulous_ Uncle Elton,

'WoooHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!'

I am **back** people! Moved in and ready to write!

**Thank You's!** This is the part in the chapter where I like to recognize and thank all those that reviewed the last chapter. I know that to most, I was not able to message you my thanks and answer questions but I'll try to catch up here now that I have internet again (fist pump!). Okay so THANK YOU: Badkidoh, Kirei Yuki Tenshi, yaoiFan080, FangFan22 a.k.a GwenFan22, strawberiies, visk, Emma's Bleeding Summer, Tortor, Tuli-Susi, Miss Strange, Valaura, Xaphrin, iDontHaveOne, IceCReaMloVeRx, QuicksilverWitch, xx Kitty-girl xx, and last but certainly not least Evilsangel!

Thank you soooo much you guys! You inspire me to keep writing! Cake All Around! And also a thanks to all those who have added me to there author/story alerts and favorites!

Remember to **REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Fall Out:**

Well. This is….Different:

_**Recap: **_

Intel and the other Emotions throughout Nevermore collapsed onto their knees, their legs buckling under the weight of change.

"What the _hell_ was that?" Rude growled, grabbing her head from her crouched position next to Deception.

"I-I d-don't l-l-like th-this." Timidity whimpered, an unfamiliar sensation burrowing into her system.

"Is this wrong?" Deception shakily kneeled, fists clenching the grass to gain some semblance of balance.

"I don't know." Intelligence breathed, struggling to stand.

"Whatever it was, it's gone now." Lethargy yawned, plucking a twig from her hair before rolling onto her stomach and cushioning her head with her folded arms.

"Yeah, gone." The yellow Emotion dusted off her book, unable to shake the unease niggling away at her thoughts.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

_**Nevermore: **_

"I can't think with all of you talking at once!" Intelligence cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting over the mob of Emotions battling for her attention. The waves of chatter faded out, leaving behind a low hum of contemplation. Intel's eyes traveled across the expanse, a sea of coloration every shade under the rainbow stared back with puzzle-glazed amethyst eyes.

"Listen, if we want to figure out what happened, we need to work together. Even you." She shot a particular dry glance at Lust. The crimson emotion rolled her eyes, fingertips tracing the collar of her low cut leotard.

"Fine." She shrugged lazily, "You want a theory?" Lust tilted her head to the side, eyes sparkling dangerously. "Here's an idea, maybe we finally got _laid_."

"At her age?" Maternal snapped, shooting Lust a scathing glance from the opposite side of Intel.

"Speak for yourself, you old prune." Lust sneered, twirling a purple lock around her finger.

Intelligence pinched the bridge of her nose. Goddess, she did not have time for this.

"Don't you take that tone with me, missy!" Maternal stiffened, shaking Timidity from her arm. She leveled the crimson Emotion with an accusing digit.

"Or what, you'll ground me?" Lust sniped in feigned worry, taking a step from the tree she'd been leaning on. "Need I remind you I was _locked_ in a **cage** for the last three years? A week of time-out will hardly be any lace from my underwear."

_Dozens of Raven-faced Emotions turned to the bun-haired mahogany matron. _

"You were put in that cage for a reason." Maternal growled also stepping forward.

_Dozens of Raven-faced Emotions turned to the generously curved hussy. _

"Goddess!" Lust threw her hands heaven word. "You'll never let me forget that will you!? It was One. Kiss. Get over it!"

_Turn.._

"Does the fact that he almost _killed_ us not bother you at all!?"

_Turn.._

"At least I would've died happy."

_Another Turn.._

"I can kill you now if you'd prefer."

_(gasp) Turn.._

"Crone!"

_("Oooooo") Turn.._

"Harlot!"

_("Ahhhhh") Turn.._

"Enough!" Intelligence shouted.

"Oohhh," The crowd protested with a crestfallen whine.

"Just when it was starting to get good…" Anticipation kicked the dirt with a pout.

"You two are worse than Rude and Annoying! No offense." Intel added with a glance at the orange and thistle colored Ravens standing off to the side enjoying the show. Rude shrugged with a thoughtful nod while Annoying simply twirled in place, seemingly non-plussed by her surroundings.

"She started it." Lust quipped shortly.

"_Really_? What are you two?" Maternal lashed back with a huff, crossing her arms.

"Are you gonna take that from her?" Someone heckled to Lust from the depths of the mob.

Intel buried her face in her palms with a soft groan.

'_Why me....'_

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

_**Museum:**_

"Eh, Sunshine?" Red –X took a tentative step towards the Titan crumpled on the floor; his ears still ringing from the piercing scream that tore out from her body only moments before. The demolished Main show room of the museum fell into eerie quiet; snowflakes of feathers and shredded pamphlets continued to fall from above.

"What? Is this some new fighting tactic? Play possum?"

Silence.

The thief bit his lip, slowly making his way through the debris of glass and wood to Ravens sprawled form. Her breath was erratic; short, gasping.

"Come on Sunshine, talk to me." Ignoring the bruises and cuts littering his body, Red-X kneeled next to the sorceress, gently turning her onto her back; dusting off splinters peppering her torn cloak in the process. He brushed a few errant strands of sweat-roped locks from her face easing her into his lap.

"Hey, if this is just a ploy to get in my arms, it worked." Red-X joked uneasily. He certainly didn't like the peaky shade of ashen grey tingeing her skin. "Open your eyes for me, Doll-face." With a gloved hand, he gently tapped her cheek. Worry began carving trenches of panic into his usually collected veneer.

"Sleeping Beauty?" He cooed, leaning down, whispering into her ear, "Don't make me kiss you conscious."

That's when he felt it;

The cold steel of a familiar bow staff wedging under his chin, forcing his masked-face up. The thief smirked, meeting his enemy's boiling glare with an amused tsk. Beneath his tattered cape, and out of Robin's line of sight, he pulled out a small device, attaching it to the floor beneath the folds of Ravens own ruined cloak.

'_Sorry about this Sunshine, but got to look out for number one…' _

"Boy Blunder…" Red-X drawled, laying Raven back onto the ground and standing slowly; the bow staff pressing harder into his throat, pushing his head back slightly. "You have the worst sense of timing."

Robin visibly tightened his grip on his weapon.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

_**Nevermore:**_

"I don't feel so good." Suffering bent over, clutching her stomach in pain.

"You never feel good, Suff. Hence your name." An arsenic colored Raven rolled her eyes to her sister before turning back to Lust and Maternal's ongoing, an quite entertaining, scrap. She gave it 2 more minutes till the old biddy just hauled off a tackled the slut.

'_That would be amaz-'_

"No." Suffering shook her head feveredly. "I _really_ don't _feel_ good, Stress." The taupe Emotion groaned falling to her knees, clutching the hem of Stress' cloak in one hand, the other twisting into the grass.

"Will you quit it!" Stress censured, trying to shake off her sister's hold. "You're acting worse than Timid-"

"Ooooauhhhh…" Suffering moaned, biting her lip in misery. "It **hurts**!"

Stress waved off the questioning looks of the surrounding Emotions with a half-hearted chortle. "Don't mind her, she's just faking. _Aren't you Suff_?" Stress leveled a pointed glare at the back of the taupe cloak.

Suffering looked up from the ground, her face a pasty white. She opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by a agonized cry that erupted above the group merely yards away.

All eyes of the assembly, including those of Maternal and Lust turned to the direction of the scream.

"Now what?" Weary groused from Stress' right. The arsenic Raven glanced at over at the circle of Emotions stepping away from a thrashing pale carmine cloak.

"That's Relief." Pity sniffed in…well….pity.

"What's wrong with her?" Confusion bated, watching as Intel's bright yellow hood weaved through the huddle that surrounded Relief.

Stress looked back down at Suffering, whose forehead was now seemingly pouring sweat, shivers racking her thin body. Stress crouched down next to her sister, an action soon followed by a concerned looking Hope.

"I-I need…" Suffering wheezed. "I-I….R-Relief….take m-me t-to….R-relief…." She sputtered between breaths.

Stress looked over Suffering at Hope. "Can you help me lift her?" The papaya colored Raven nodded silently. After a few awkward moments of finding where hands could grab without looking as if they were groping, the pair heaved the ailing Emotion up into the air, Stress hugging her under the arms, Hope holding up her legs.

"MOVE IT!" Stress shouted.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

_**Museum:**_

"So…" Red-X licked his lips, fingers itching.

Robin was seething. He could feel his nostrils flaring with every breath.

"You're," The Titan's voice cracked with rage, he mentally counted to 5 before trying again. "You're under arrest X." Robin spat the last letter as if it burned his tongue.

"May I inquire as to what the charges are?" The thief tilted his head, taking a step to the right.

Robin mirrored X's step, never letting the bow staff leave the criminal's throat, even as Red, began slowly circling around.

"Charges?" Robin growled following X's movements.

"Yes, my charges." X shrugged. "I believe I'm entitled to hear what it is I'm going to jail for?"

"Breaking and Entering," The Titan began listing. He knew all of them by heart from nights pouring over X's records in the evidence room. "Reckless Endangerment, Reckless Driving, Carrying/Concealing Dangerous weapons, Taking of Endangered Species,…."

'_Oh yeah, the Panda….'_ Red-X shuddered. _That_ wasn't what he would consider one of his most successful jobs. The damn things were supposed to be vegetarians. _'Vegetarian my ass…'_ X felt the crescent shape scar of bite marks on his left buttocks twinge in phantom pain.

"…Fireworks without Permit, Illegal Sale of Furs, Hacking, Cruelty to Poultry…"

Again not one of his finer moments.

"…Speeding, Disorderly Conduct, Theft..."

'_Duh.'_

"…Bribery, Vandalism, Larceny, Pet-"

"You're skipping my favorite one." Red-X cut in, finally coming to a stop, effectively putting Robin between he and Raven.

"And that would be?"

"Resisting Arrest-"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Red-X bent backwards, throwing his arms up into a handspring, narrowly missing Robin's swing that skimmed the spandex suit stretching across his chest.

Landing he barely had a hairs breath to roll left as the Titan roared bringing his bow staff down hard onto the marble floor, leaving a six inch crack where the thief's head had been only moments before.

_Was it something I said… _Red-X mused feigning right and twisting back into one handed flip to the left; his free hand going to a small detonator attached to his belt, again barely dodging another staff thrust.

He shot Raven one last glance before pressing down on the detonator to the small flash bomb he had placed next to her.

'_Sorry, Babe. This'll hurt me more than it'll hurt you….'_

"X! DON'T-" Robin started, twirling around and racing to Raven's side.

_Beep….Beep….__**BANG**__!_

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

_**Nevermore:**_

"What's wrong with them?" Maternal's hand went to Suffering's forehead, the heat she felt radiating off the smaller Emotion causing her to pull back.

"I'm not sure, but I think it has to do with that energy wave earlier." Intel murmured, her eyes dancing back and forth between Suffering and Relief. The two lay separated on the ground convulsing.

"You mean the same energy wave you have no clue about either?" Rude lifted a jaunty brow.

"Yes," Intelligence spurned, "That one." She pushed up her glasses, gazing around the circle of emotions surrounding them, eyes falling on Stress. "Did you see what happened to her?"

"All she said was that she didn't feel well, and down she went." The arsenic Emotion stated.

"Nothing else?"

"What do you want from me!?" Stress snapped, the pressure of Intel's inquiring eyes making her want to fo- Without warning the arsenic cloaked Raven burst into tears before turning tail and running off; pushing down Anti-Social in her wake.

"Way to go four-eyes, you made her cry." Rude plucked a piece of grass off her shoulder.

"Yeah four-eyes, geeze. Make her cry why don't you." Annoying added mimicking Rude's tone. The orange Emotion's right eye twitch.

"She did say something about needing to be near Relief." Offered Confusion after a small, tense moment.

"Well they're near each other." Intel looked back down, noticing how each convulsion brought the two writhing figures closer together. "That's strange…."

"Wh-"

A sharp flash of light burst from the center of the circle. Intel squinted her eyes closed, turning her face from the blazing flare as the rest of the Emotions scrambled backwards.

Furiously rubbing her amethyst orbs back into focus, Maternal blinked the black spots dancing from her vision. She immediately stepped back to Relief and Suffer-

The Emotions of Nevermore released a collective gasp.

"Well." Lust paused, eyes widening in surprise at the tie-dyed cloaked figure lying on the grass. "This is….Different…"

Somewhere in the background, Delirium let loose a manic cackle.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**A/N:** Okay, not one of my favorite chapters, but I'm trying to get back into the groove of things! Sorry about the vagueness and cliffhanger. If you were confused about the last part, that's okay, I'll explain further as we go along.

Oh yeah, and again, I'm slowly but surely introducing more and more emotions. Some play bigger parts than others as you may have realized.

Besides all that, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. And sorry for the OOC-ness on Robin's part.

Anywhoo, I would absolutely **LOVE** to hear **FEEDBACK** for this particular chapter, just because it's my first one after a long delay. And I hope it flows with the other chapters. If not I can go back and correct it accordingly.

Happy Reading : )

~Ambrosia


	9. No, I'm Confused

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Teen Titans, you can guarentee that there would be some Red-X/Raven action going on. But sadly I don't own it and can only fanfic my dreams into being. Ergo, this story.

**Note:** School midterms suck. Clinicals suck. Lack of sleep and caffeine uber-suck, like they range up there with world war and the sun crashing into the earth suckiness....

**Thank You's:** Again, taking the time to thank all those wonderful wonderful w-on-der-full reviewers who blessed me with their feedback! So to; QuicksilverWitch, xx Kitty-girl xx, Bathories Slave Kuri, Xaphrin, badkidoh, Tortor, Evilsangel, Visk, iBelieveInAngels, and Xaphrin again (two thanks yous for the double reviews!)!! THANK YOU!!!

You guys rock my ever-living socks off! True socks aren't what one would categorize as living, but it would be kinda cool if they did though. Think about it..... It could work....

Also a small thanks but no-less important one to those who added me to their favs and story alerts!

Now on with it!

**I'm confused:**

No, _I'm_ Confused!:

_**Recap:**_

A sharp flash of light burst from the center of the circle. Intel squinted her eyes closed, turning her face from the blazing flare as the rest of the Emotions scrambled backwards.

Furiously rubbing her amethyst orbs back into focus, Maternal blinked the black spots dancing from her vision. She immediately stepped back to Relief and Suffer-

The Emotions of Nevermore released a collective gasp.

"Well." Lust paused, eyes widening in surprise at the tie-dyed cloaked figure lying on the grass. "This is….Different…"

Somewhere in the background, Delirium let loose a manic cackle.

_**Nevermore:**_

"What the hell is _that_?" Curiosity sputtered, eyes widening considerably at the taupe/carmine swirled Raven, curled on the ground, before shooting a glance at Intelligence.

"I-It's a Mu-Mutant!" Timidity shrieked, pressing her face into the folds of Maternal's cape. The bun-haired Raven, wrapped a comforting arm around the shivering grey shoulders.

"It's not a mutant, Tim, now shush." Maternal tsked.

"Y-Yes it is!" The grey Raven insisted, nodding fervently. Hysteria stumbled forward, pushing aside a variety of colored cloaks in her struggle to get to the front of the huddled Emotions. She let out a wail, pointing an accusing finger at what was once two Emotions, now one.

"KILL THE MUT-" The rest of her scream muffled by an irritated Deception.

"That's enough of that." The olive cloaked Raven mumbled, ignoring the way Hysteria clawed at her hand. "What's up?" She looked over at Intel, seemingly non-plussed by Hysteria's struggles to get free.

The yellow-cloaked Emotion met her sister's inquisitive glare with a rattled shrug. "I don't know."

"You know, you keep saying that." Lust quipped with a jaunty brow raise, "It's getting _really_ annoying."

"Yes?" The thistle Raven's head popped up as she halted mid-twirl, her eye's glistening with unnerving joy.

"What?"

"You called on me, oh whorish one?" Some where in the foreground, Maternal snickered.

"_No.._." The crimson Emotion growled with an unamused glare at Maternal then reallocating it to her smaller sister.

"Yes, you did." Annoy nodded fervently.

"No, I didn't." Both taking steps closer to one another.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes you di-id." Annoy, admonished in a sing-song voice waving her finger with a crooked smile.

"Not the noun you, Annoying," Lust rolled her eyes pinching the bridge of her nose, "The non-capitalized, adjective, annoying."

"Wait, I'm confused." Impulsive's brow furrowed, her hands tugging at her mint green stole.

"No, _I'm_ Confused." Another Raven raised her hand.

"What?" Deception did a double take at the steel blue Emotion, adjusting her hold on Hysteria. "You're Confus_ion_. How can you be the past-tense of yourself?"

"Oh." Confusion looked down and away. "Wait, what?"

The surrounding Emotions palm-faced themselves.

**-Twenty Minutes Later-**

"You. Are. Annoying." Lust stated slowly at the thistle Raven who nodded in acquiesce.

"Yes."

Lust then turned to Confusion.

"You. Are. Confusion."

"Okay." The steel blue Emotion nodded hesitantly.

"And you...." Lust swiveled to Maternal who raised a brow.

"I know who **I** am, thank you." Lust smirked cocking out her hip.

"Oh, so you're well aware that you're a bitch..."

**-Another Ten Minutes Later-**

Lust prodded her soon-to-be-black eye tenderly, the compact mirror in her hand snapping closed.

"_Some_ people can't take a joke." Lust huffed. Maternal tightened her bun, smiling predatorily at Lust as she dusted off her cloak. "Goddess I hate you, you annoying-"

"Yes?"

Lust and the surrounding Raven's groaned. "**No**, not you Annoying! The other annoying!"

"What?" The thistle Emotion wrinkled her nose in confusion.

**-Yet Another Ten Minutes Go By-**

Lust threw up her hands. "I give up."

"My brain-hurts." Annoying whined, fisting her hands in her hair, pulling at the purple roots.

"I find that doubtful." Rude snorted.

"Uh?" Annoying looked up.

"You don't have the required equipment for brain pain." Rude whispered conspiratorially, tapping the side of her head. Annoying frowned,

"I wish a herd of piranha on you." The thistle Raven murmured darkly, before smiling brightly and returning to her non-sensical humming. Rude drew back a tad unnerved.

"We're getting nowhere." Impatience growled from the behind Intel, tapping her foot ardently upon the carpet of lush grass.

"I agree."

"You agree with everyone, Acceptance."

"I do, don't I." She said with a small frown.

"That's it. I'm going to **kill** someone." Disgust snarled. All Emotions surrounding the frothing Raven promptly took a large step back.

"KILL THE MUTAN-"

"Oops!" Deception slapped her hand back over Hysteria's face. "Sorry about that. Apparently she's not above _biting_." The olive Emotion stated with a pointed glare at her more unstable sister.

"Nobody's killing anybody." Maternal promised with an unnerving scowl. "To even think it is deplorable, I'm very disappointed in you. On the other hand," She paused with a thoughtful shrug, "Lust doesn't actually qualify as a person, so if you have to kill some_thing, _I'm more than willing to let her sacrifice be_-"_

"Hey!" Said 'non-person' Lust cut in, shocked. "I'm standing **right** here, you know."

"Shut up, and you won't be for very much longer." Maternal gave her a tight-lipped smiled.

"It's m-moving!" Timidity squeaked stepping behind the matronly Emotion, holding the mahogany cloak in front of her like a shield.

All chatter ceased, countless pairs of amethyst eyes falling to the now stirring tie-dyed Emotion.

"Hppmmmm...." The 'mutant' moaned, a pale hand lifting to cradle the lingering residue of a headache. Glazed eyes squinted up from the ground, hood falling back to reveal a familiar shade of purple hair. "What's up guys?"

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**_Titan Tower: _**

"Dude, did anyone catch the number of that train?" Beast Boy groaned, sitting up in the T-Tower's medic/lab. The starchy sheets scratching his bruise-spotted, green skin. His eyes immediately flew to the sound of the automatic doors swishing open.

"Oh good, you're up." Robin walked in, a small smile of relief curling at the corners of his mouth. "I'm going to debrief you guys up in the living room, so lets go."

"Friend Robin?! Why is it my mouth feels the copperness of pennies pressed within it?" Starfire clicked her tongue heavily, grimacing at the lingering taste. She jumped off her bed, swaying slightly before finding her center and floating over to Robin's side. "Did we manage to apprehend the fiendish X and stop his thefting of the jewels?" The Titan leader's grin melted, his brow marring.

"No." Robin groused, irately turning and leaving with an angry snap of his cape. Starfire's beautiful face crumpled, her feet finding the ground as her wide eyes fell on BB.

"Did I say the words wrong?"

"Nah," BB rolled off the gurney, wincing as he jostled some pain-pounded muscles. "Ah Man! My hair!" The changeling whined, running his hands over the tacky clumps of red and green dripping down the sides of his face. "Do you know how long this takes to wash out!"

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

**_Nevermore:_**

"Well, she _looks_ normal." Hope whispered to an antsy Anticipation.

"Give it a second and I bet her head will explode or an alien will pop out of her chest." The Amber Emotion's eyes held within them a fevered gleam, leg bounicing.

"How do you feel?" Maternal pulled out of Timidity's crushing grip, kneeling down beside the confused Raven. She reached out and placed a warm palm on the puzzled Emotions shoulder.

"Fine." The new Raven answered slowly, eyeing Maternal with unease. "Why? Should I be feeling bad or somet-" Before she could finish her question, a certain Emotion off to the side stopped turning, her hum coming to a halt as she collapsed to her knees with a squeal.

"Owowowowowowowowowow!"

"Oh dear." Maternal jumped up running over to Annoying's side, as the thistle Raven clutched her stomach in pain.

"My Liver...." Annoying moaned.

"Is on the other side, idiot." Rude lamented, rolling her eyes. Annoying stuck out her tongue juvenilely before curling into a ball.

"Wait! What's going on?" The tie-dye Raven demanded, watching a kind of panic fill everyone's eyes as they began to shift their attention to Annoying.

"I'll explain later." Intelligence said simply, taking a few calculated steps towards Annoy. Lust snorted, helping the new Raven to her feet.

"Translation: She has no damn clue." Lust ignored the glasses-covered eyes burning into the back of her head, flipping a bang out of her face. "Between you and me, whoever you are," A hand flippantly waved down to her sister's swirled covering, "I think all those thick books she carts around are just for show."

"I'm Sufflief."

"Uh?" Lust sniffed pretensiously hands running down the streamline of her narrow hips. She smiled at the way her waist cut in before flaring ou-

"My name, it's Sufflief."

Intel and Lust froze turning back to the tie-dyed Raven, faces identical in stupor. Lust grimaced, shaking her head and turning to her 'smarter' sister.

"Did she just say-"

"Yeah." Intel finished.

"Then that would mean she's both-"

"Yeah."

"And what's happening to Annoyi-"

This time, instead of being cut off by Intel's monotone agreement, and spiced with a sense of de je vu, another piercing scream cut in over the rainbow field of Emotions.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

_**Titan Tower: Ravens Room**_

"How is she?"

Cyborg turned from the sorceress slumbering on the oval bed of purple and black sheets to the figure hovering in the doorway.

"The same. Are you sure it was just a flash bomb?" The mechanically enhanced teen asked, scratching his head. His night vision caught the scowl on his leaders face.

"I'm sure."

**-Flashback-**

Red-X shot Raven one last glance before pressing down on the detonator to the small flash bomb he had placed next to her.

"X! DON'T-" Robin screamed, twirling around and racing to Raven's side. His glove hand ghosted over her face, twisting into the fabric of her hood and dragging her against his body and jumping away from th-

_Beep….Beep….__BANG__!_

When the dust settled and the spots in his vision finally faded away, Robin opened his eyes. White masked eyes scanned the large circular showroom, taking in the aftermath.

Naturally, X was gone. But the thing that confused the leader most was the necklace of jadeite beads laying among the destruction. If it wasn't jewels Red-X was after, what was the point of breaking into the Jump City Museum?

**-End of Flashback- **

"Why?"

"Well," Cyborg tsked, "It's just that she would've woken up by now. Did she bump her head?"

"Maybe. She was already knocked out when I caught X with her...." He trailed off, his mind pulling out the image of Red-X bent over Raven, cradling her in his lap while he whispered against her flushed cheek,

_Don't make me kiss you conscious...._ The Titan growled eyes narrowing behind the mask.

Robins eyes drifted over Cyborg's shoulder to Raven, her face pale and serene in the moonlight pouring in from the large window. He couldn't shake the recurring memory of her body fitted against his; the feel of her lips pressed into the hollow of his throat as he shielded her from the blast; the sweet scent of sweat and chrysanthemums that permeated his every other thought. A shiver worked it's way down Robin's spine, leaving his fingers itching for the touch of her alabaster skin.

"You okay, Rob?" Cyborg eyed him uneasily, running a quick visual scan of Robin's vitals. The leader shook his head sighing away his not-so-professional-thoughts.

"Fine. I'm debriefing BB and Starfire on the mission downstairs. Call me the moment she wakes up."

"Sure thing." Cyborg nodded, retaking his seat next to Raven. A knowing smile began stretching across his bionic face as he gazed down at his team-mate. "Man Rae, has he got it bad for you." But instead of chuckling, his face turned dark with a brotherly protectiveness. "Of course if he hurts you, I'll break his legs."

* * *

**A/N:** Not one of my best chapters, but this one is mostly a filler. I wrote it just to inform you that the Titans made it back to the tower, everyone's alive and well, Red-X escaped, and Robin's beginning to realize his feelings towards his quite and detached comrade. Alrighty, prepare for a time-skip in the next chapter, because it's about damn time Raven visited Nevermore! Wouldn't you say so!? Also, X feels guilty and decides to change his Raven wooing strategy......

And please,

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW**

Happy Reading : )

~Ambrosia


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